Outcast
by RynnieWrites
Summary: Weeks before her seventh birthday, Renesmee crosses paths with two men her family hoped she would never meet. Secrets are exposed, lies are told, love is tested and a war breaks out. All Renesmee wanted to do was be a normal teenager, and go to high school; now she's the subject of a werewolves adoration and a diabolical vampires obsession. How will she ever get through this?
1. Invisible To The Eye

**A/N:** Hi. It's me. Ryn. *dodges book* It's been about...four years. So, I'm back. Rewriting this. Again. New Account. New story. New plot. ALL SO MUCH BETTER.

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Chapter One - Invisible To The Eye

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_what drives you on_  
_can drive you mad_  
_a million lies to sell yourself_  
_is all you ever had_

_\- garbage, stupid girl_

oOoOo

". . . After several days of travel, he landed in a port about ten miles south of Seoul. But, he never would have guessed how much being in this country would change him." Mrs. Kollas read from an autobiography to my AP history class. I rolled my eyes and tapped my pencil on my desk, this class never failed to bore me.

I glanced at the clock for the forth time within the last two minutes, time moved so slowly.

"Carlie, do you _mind_?" the girl in front of me said as she turned around to face me with a heated stare. I looked at her over my shoulder with a smirk.

"Actually, no. I don't mind." I replied with a short laugh. She sighed dramatically and turned back around quickly, attempting to flick me with her blonde mane.

Rolling my eyes, I whisper "So annoying." under my breath. Some humans really were not my favorite.

Mrs. Kollas continued to lecture us, repeating the importance of another war from our neighboring countries past. This has probably been repeated about a few million times by every teenager in the world, but high school is like a weird dystopian universe that society forces you into.

I thought going to school with humans would be fun. I could learn what people were like - living, breathing people. But, it wasn't exactly what I imagined it would be like.

I've always been so _guarded_, forever being protected. I thought by coming to high school by myself, it would let me explore life without my entire family breathing down my neck.

But, really - it's changed my views about everything I thought life outside my family would be like. I figured being around people my own age (sort of) would be an amazing experience. I could make friends, maybe play sports . . . cautiously. But, It's not.

It's like you're at war. You against everyone and everything, even sometimes against yourself. Although I was fully matured physically and mentally. Emotionally . . . I was struggling. I was judged, ignored...and even bullied at times. I just wanted to finally fit in somewhere.

I breathed in deeply, letting out a long sigh. I had to stop thinking so much. I didn't have much longer here. I was graduating in the spring, and then the next time I went to high school my family promised it would be together. So, I would never be left out again.

I looked out the window, focusing on the bare branches that creaked in the frosty wind. Fall came and went, and soon snow would be on the ground. Breathing in deeply again, an odd smell hit my senses. It smelled like the forests that surrounded the house I was born in. _Interesting_. I thought to myself.

The door creaked open and I snapped my head forward faster than I should have.

"Ah, Mr. Clearwater is it? Welcome . . . you can take your seat next to . . . " Her eyes scanned the room until she spotted the empty desk next to mine. "Carlie." Mrs. Kollas finished.

His dark brown eyes met mine. I smiled weakly, and sunk into my seat. He was huge, almost as big as my Uncle Emmett.

He nodded and walked down the aisle to his seat. His face was boyish, charming almost. He had deeply tanned skin and long black hair kept in a bun at the nape of his neck. I studied his features as he slid into his seat. He turned his head and tapped my desk.

"I'm Seth."

I blinked a few times, and my eyes darted around the room. Everyone was staring at him, then they were staring at me. I felt my face heat up, and looked back at him.

"Carlie." I choked out. I looked down at my notebook, hoping the attention would go away. This was definitely about to spread like wildfire during lunch.

"I can't believe you sit back here all alone, this the class you text in or something?" He guessed quietly. I looked up at him again, his dark brown eyes burning holes into mine.

"I like my space . . . " I trailed off, looking back down at my notebook.

Abruptly, the bell rang. _Finally._

All too quickly, I sat up and shoved my books and notes into my bag. I watched as my drum sticks slipped out the side pocket and rattled next to the new kid's feet.

"You play the drums?" He casually asked, picking them up swiftly as he stood up. He handed them to me and looked down sporting a huge grin.

My eyes widened, jeesh, what a happy guy. "Uh, yes. I'm not in band or anything though." I blurted out quickly. "I play at home."

I zipped up my bag and slung it over my shoulder. I gave him a weak smile and turned to walk away.

"Do you mind showing me to the science wing?" He asked as he followed behind me and out the door. I turned to look at him, and then saw the class list in his hands. I opened my palm towards him and he handed it to me.

"Room B20, first floor. It's by the offices." I pushed the paper against his chest and walked away quickly. God, that was so weird. Why did I act like that?

I floated through the rest of my classes, almost in a daze. I couldn't get over how familiar he smelled. How different he was from most humans I met. I shook my head as I walked out of school. I bounded down the steps through the pool of teenagers and towards the parking lot.

"Carlie!" I heard a familiar voice yell from behind me. I turned around and saw the new kid.

Great.

"Hi, Seth." I said shortly. What was with this guy?

He smiled, and switched his backpack to the other shoulder. "So, what are we doing tonight?"

I snorted, "Are you trying to ask me out?"

He rolled his eyes, "No, I'm trying to _hang_ out." He corrected me mockingly. "Trying to make some friends, can you blame a guy?"

I raised my eyebrows, "It's Friday, so I usually stay home and watch movies with my family." Wow. Lame answer.

"So, no. You don't have plans." He teased, winking at me and brushing his elbow against my shoulder.

I scratched my temple and started to walk again, making my way to my car. "I mean, I guess not any definitive ones." I replied with a snarky tone.

"What do you do for fun around here?" He asked, stepping in front of my car door to stop me from getting in.

"What is with the 21 questions? Jeeze, just get in the car then." I nudged him over and slid into my car. I pushed it to start as I watched him jump over my hood and into my passenger seat.

Nirvana came on through the speakers and I shifted into drive. Pulling out of the parking lot, I held my breath. My dad was going to kill me. Maybe mom can shield me when I get home so I wouldn't have to listen to him vent about me being careful around humans.

"Drums . . . Nirvana . . . Land Rover . . . kind of looking like you're a total badass in disguise." He laughed loudly.

I rolled my eyes and pulled onto the highway. "Maybe so."

He nodded his head, and rested his forearm on the door. I looked over at him, glancing over his clothing and body language. Jeans and a sweatshirt, casual. Chest open and shoulders relaxed. Not threatened, and definitely not bothered by me. That was a first. So many humans were perplexed not only with my appearance but my mannerisms. I was raised by stoic vampires, what can I say? But he was completely calm, and at ease.

I was intrigued. "Why did you move here?" I blurted out.

He shrugged and his lip twitched upwards, but paused before answering. "My brother is opening a shop back home and I needed to graduate to work there. His rules."

My brows furrowed, _how old was this kid?_ "I'm 20, if you're wondering." He seemed to finish my thoughts.

"That's cool. Good for you. I'm assuming you're a senior then?" I inquired as I pulled into Jeb's diner's parking lot. I shut the car off and unbuckled my belt to turn towards him.

"Yep." He grinned, "I just had a semester left and thought 'why not just go back and live somewhere new' while I did it. Jake's also the hockey coach - and temporarily subbing when they need him. It worked out." He nodded his head to himself, that white smile gracing his face again for the hundredth time. "You like it here?" He asked, looking past the diner into the thick layer of trees and snow.

I sighed and opened my car door. "We move a lot, but this has been home for about four years and its growing on me. I do miss the sun though." I joked, as if I had ever lived anywhere remotely sunny. With my sparkling family, and all. British Columbia was dark and cold during the winter, _and_ long and harsh. Perfect for vampires.

We had lived in New Hampshire for the first three years of my life, leaving the place I was born only when I was a day old. I had no real memories of it, just sounds and smells that lingered in my mind.

I pursed my lips, deciding to open up more. I've never talked to anyone from school this long. "Uh, my _brothers _and_ sisters_ went to our school when they were . . . younger." _60 years younger, that is. _I thought to myself, can't really say that though.

"And, when it came to be my time to start school as a freshman, we decided to come back here." I sighed and glanced down at my hands in my lap. "I was homeschooled before that."

Seth raised an eyebrow, "Decided to come back? What's that s'pposed to mean?" He inquired curiously. Did I let too much slip?

My eyes met his briefly "They left after they all graduated, and then they – uh - brought me into the family . . . after fifteen years, we came back." I said all too fast. Internally rolling my eyes at myself. Lying, was not my specialty. "I didn't even ask if you're hungry . . . " I laughed as I hastily got out of the car, hoping a change of scenery would divert our conversation. I heard him follow after me.

He chuckled, the sound seeming to echo past the trees. "I am _always_ hungry."

I pushed the door open, the bell chimed and my eyes searched for Jeb, the diner's owner. "Hi, Jeb!" I yelled when I spotted him through the food window.

"Carlie Masen, good to see you! How are the folks?" He asked, his long grey beard moving with his mouth and the heavy wrinkles around his eyes smiled when he talked.

"They're good, they say hi." I smiled back at him and slid into my usual booth.

Grandpa Carlisle and Grandma Esme posed as my parents in this town, and they made it a point to be friendly with the locals so our story would be a bit more believable. It was such a small town, and we knew after I graduated we would never come back - so it didn't matter much. But, in the end, I knew it was to make my life as normal as possible . . . for a half vampire, half human girl.

Seth sat across from me and picked up a menu sitting on the table. "Carlie Masen, rolls off your tongue." He grinned with a wink. I rolled my eyes and shoved my bag in the corner of the booth.

_If only you knew my real, mouthful of a name._

"I told you about my family, what about yours? Is it just you and your brother?" I questioned. Curiosity was beginning to take over.

He nodded while still puzzling over the menu, flipping it back and forth. "Yeah, Jake's from my reservation back home. He's not my real brother, but he's been looking out for me since I was 14."

Native American, just like I suspected. "Where is your reservation?"

He set the menu down and smiled with his eyes, "La Push, on the coast of Washington. Facing the Pacific Ocean." He stretched out his arms and placed them behind his neck.

Huh, weird. My birthplace was in Washington.

"So, you moved from Washington to Canada with him so you could go to high school, and he could be a hockey coach . . . in the middle of no where?" I asked with skepticism. Something was starting to feel suspicious.

He chuckled, "Well, we have been traveling for a few years. All over North America. Jake's opening that shop like I mentioned, so since we were passing through we just decided to stay here. We liked it, the mountains, trees . . . its not a bad view. We built a house a few miles from here actually. Before this though . . .Jake was – uh - looking for someone. Pretty much fueled our travels."

My left eyebrow raised, "What, like an ex-girlfriend?" I joked.

Seth seemed to get a bit tense, "Sort of . . . more like an old friend. She disappeared from a town near our reservation 6 years ago, almost 7."

I blinked a few times, the story he was telling was sad. Almost familiar though. "What town?" I asked, prying all too much. The air between us was still, I was intrigued in this story. Excited, almost.

Suddenly time started moving again, and the sound from the diner came back into my mind. Jeb came over with a pad of paper, "Hey little lady, the usual?" I nodded my head a little and looked up at him with a smile.

"You know it."

He turned to Seth "What about you, man?"

Seth glanced over the menu once more before setting it aside. "I'll try the poutine."

Jeb nodded and bumbled back to the kitchen, his heavyset frame squeezing through the kitchen doors.

"Anyways," Seth started "lets not talk 'bout that, yeah? Jake's business and all."

I blinked and held my hands up in defense. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to pry. I just got invested." I said with a short, awkward laugh. Taking a bronze curl and twisting it with my fingers.

"S'okay. Do you like hiking?" he asked me.

Suddenly, I blushed. Realizing . . . this was the first person I had a serious conversation with that wasn't related to me. I wondered about Seth's intentions, even though I knew nothing could come from this. He was a human, after all. He would age, and die - while I stayed forever stuck. Granted, my birthday was in three weeks, I still had some growing to do . . . but after that? Nope. Frozen forever. But, nonetheless - why else would he be asking me these kinds of things. Opening up to me with personal history . . . or was I reading too much into this? I just met him. _Relax_. I thought. My mind trailed off . . . _Oh god, Dad was going to read my mind. He was going to find Seth and question him._ I pinched the bridge of my nose and awkwardly laughed again. "Yeah, actually. I'm pretty outdoorsy. My family and I all camp and hike." And _hunt_. I thought to myself.

Our food hit the table and a waitress smiled at Seth, "Anything else I can get you, baby?" she questioned him.

He grinned and grabbed his utensils, "Nope, this is great."

Before she could walk away he was shoveling the food in his mouth. My eyes widened. _Whoa, he wasn't kidding_. He really was hungry.

I felt my phone vibrate, I looked down. _Alice _ran across the screen. "Hold on." I said to him. I slid out of my seat and towards the door, answering the phone as I pushed the glass door open. "Hi, Alice." I answered.

I peaked back at Seth as I exited the diner. His head snapped in my direction and a puzzled look on his face appeared. I furrowed my brows and bounded down the stairs.

"Renesmee, where are you?" She asked bluntly. Great. Dad had her calling to check on me. It's only been a half hour after school ended and my overbearing family cant let up.

"I – uh - am hanging out with someone? Someone new at school. He's – "

She cut me off, "Renesmee, I can't _see_ you."

I froze. My vision darted back to Seth, who was now staring at me through the window. His eyebrows furrowed. He looked concerned. Alice's visions of me had always been spotty, but she could see more now after a few years of being around me than she could when I was first born.

"What do you mean?"

She sighed, "I mean, I can _not _see you. You're gone. This has never happened before, besides when you were first born. I need you to come home." Suddenly I heard shuffling on the other line. "Renesmee." My father breathed.

"Hi, daddy. I'm fine. I swear – "

"Come home." He hissed, cutting me off. His demand was clear. I was not getting out of this.

I nodded to myself and kicked the gravel under my boots. "Okay."

"I love you." He said, and hung up swiftly. I watched Seth come outside. He seemed . . . tense?

"Who was that?" He asked, more serious than I have seen him thus far. His brown eyes darkening.

"Just my - my sister." I stuttered. "I have to go home. My parents are strict." I started walking past him towards the diner to pay the tab. He grabbed my wrist. His hands were hot and rough, and the hair on my neck stood up. His temperature was close to mine. Higher than any humans.

I now understood why Alice could no longer see me. Seth was blocking her vision.

Suddenly, I was scared.

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A/N: Thoughts? Comments? Complaints? Renesmee will learn more about herself, somewhat normal teenage/early adulthood emotions, the werewolves, her families past, ect. I had rushed the previous plot, left a lot of things hanging in the air and the direction of the overall story was pretty flat. SO, I really hope everyone enjoys this version, because I know I do! Enjoy AND please review! I know theres an audience out there somewhere, just waiting for the perfect Jacob/Renesmee Fic and lemme tell you - its this. xx


	2. She's Found

Chapter Two - She's Found

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_you're intruding on what's mine and_  
_you're taking up my time_  
_don't have the courage inside me_  
_to tell you please let me be_

_\- no doubt, spiderwebs_

oOoOo

My body tensed, my eyes flashed to his in a panic. Seconds passed, but it felt like an eternity.

"I already paid it." He replied cheekily, dropping my wrist quickly.

I felt like the world started moving again before I had even realized it might have stopped. I heard the cars whizzing past the small building, birds chirping high up on the branches, but all I could really hear was my heart.

_Thump. Thump. Thump._

Quickly in my chest, with fear and confusion. Had he noticed my temperature? Could he see the look in my eyes when I felt his skin?

"I – I –" Stuttering, I began to fumble. Feeling myself fall back, away from him. My legs barely working.

He scrutinized my movements, stepping forward towards me. "S'okay, Carlie. We'll call it even next time." He winked at me. Was he playing a game or was I the only one aware of what happened. Was I crazy? Was I letting irrational thinking get to me?

I breathed out for the first time in minutes, heavily. Not noticing I had been holding my breath. I inhaled sharply, trying to attune to my vampire senses. Seth had smelled musky, almost like clay and the ocean. His scent was thicker than any humans I had come across. I was finally noticing. He was not human, not even close.

But, what was he?

My brain went into overdrive. I was standing there, staring at him for too many minutes. Trying to look for hints. I knew of Nahuel, and vampires. There were the wild stories of the children of the moon my father told me about when I was younger. Surely, Seth was not one of them?

Or . . . could he be?

I blinked, trying to wrack my brain for the right words to say. "Do you need a ride?" I blurted out. I was terrified of him, but also intrigued. I wanted to get to the bottom of this. Was this why Alice had called? Was Seth a danger?

He seemed to be safe. He smiled a lot, he was kind. Charming, most would say.

He looked at me long, and settled for a nod. "I would appreciate it."

We were back in my car, I shakily buckled my seat belt. I kept inhaling, trying to taste the air with my tongue. As if his scent would give me a clue. I shook my head out. I needed to relax. I needed to ground myself.

"You okay?" He asked, peering at me with suspicion.

I nodded, "Uh – I – uh, yes." I mumbled softly. "I just need – um – directions."

Maybe where he lived would give me a clue. I could probably rule out a cave, right? My lip twitched upwards, I was trying to _normalize_ this situation.

The ride was short, and quiet. The air was thick; the tension I had built up was becoming overwhelming. My anxiety crept in then began crashing like a boulder.

"Turn here, it's at the end of the path." He stated a little harshly. I looked to my right, a dirt driveway hidden by the thick of trees. I felt my breath hitch in my throat. If I wasn't anxious before, I definitely was now.

I did as he instructed, and pulled up to a wooden cabin about half a mile down the path. It was nice, reminded me of those classic wooden cabins you see in paintings.

"Well, if you didn't have to go home I'd invite you in. Jake's home." He said, a smile gracing his face.

I was seriously getting confused and worked up at the same time. I didn't know if he caught on to my fear, was playing dumb to relieve me or it was just a part of a sick game.

"Uh – um okay. See you Monday." I choked out, waiting for him to get out of my car. He shot me a look, almost pained, and jumped out. I peeled away a little too quickly, and called my father immediately.

He answered before it could ring. "We sent Emmett and Jasper out because it was taking so long. Where are you?" He hissed through the receiver, I shakily switched the phone to my other hand.

"Dad -" My voice croaked. Before I could finish my sentence, my doors flung open and a flash of white hit my peripherals. I screamed and slammed the brakes. Sending my uncles catapulting forward into the back of the front seats.

"Renesmee!" Emmett boomed. I pulled into park in the middle of the road and whipped my head backwards.

I felt a wave of calm and serenity overcome me. I looked to my uncle Jasper, and gave a weak smile.

I let out a deep breath and slouched into my seat. Checking my rearview for cars, I pulled the phone back to my ear.

"They found me." I stated with monotone. He sighed in relief, and hastily told me "Be on your way back, we have to talk.".

I hung up and tossed the phone into my passenger seat. Emmett was covering his nose as I shifted and began driving again.

"It reeks in here, Renesmee." Emmett sneered, holding his head up like he was going to get sick from whatever he was smelling.

Jasper nodded, "Darlin'" he began, "Who was in here with you?"

I gulped, thinking they somehow knew part of my answer already.

"He told me his name was Seth – um – Seth Clearwater. He is new at my school. It was his first day."

I watched in the mirror as they gave each other looks. Very specific "there's no way" looks.

"Do either of you know what's going on?" I pried.

"I think this is a conversation best suited for your parents." Jasper replied slowly.

oOoOo

I sat in the corner of my Grandpa Carlisle's study, facing the window and watching the fog float through the forest like chiffon dancing in the wind.

My fathers voice broke me from my haze. "Renesmee," he coaxed. His voice strong but soothing. "your mother and I need to tell you this. There are things, we have kept from you. Things we didn't think we needed to tell you, but it appears we have no choice."

I slowly raised my gaze to his, his golden eyes bore into my brown ones thoughtfully.

I looked to my mother, who was standing in the doorway with her arms crossed and one hand to her mouth. Lightly biting at her fingertips. A human trait she never lost.

She noticed my eyes, and floated across the room in the blink of an eye. Crouching down in front of me. She took both of my hands in hers, and looked deeply into my eyes.

"Renesmee, do you remember where you were born?" She asked simply. An otherwise normal question despite the circumstances.

I thought back, my earliest memories flooding the forefront of my mind. I transferred them easily to my mother, my palms on the tops of her hands now.

I remembered the sounds first, birds singing to each other. Squirrels darting between branches, the rain tap, tap, tapping on the forest floor. I showed her seeing Daddy for the first time, his eyes dark and tired but full of love. Then to my mother. I saw her, I looked hard at her thin face. Grey with exhaustion but her human eyes still beautiful and brown, like my own. I shifted my memories to the smells of a fireplace crackling, my Aunt Rose's eyes as they gazed into mine. I showed her all that I could remember.

She nodded, her soft smile making me feel better. "Do you remember the name of the town?"

My gaze shifted to my father, his brows were furrowed. He was concentrating on me, reading anything he could.

I shook my head; I actually did not remember.

"It was called Forks. Forks, Washington."

My breath caught in my throat.

"_La Push, on the coast of Washington."_

Daddy drew in a sharp hiss, alluding to hearing my thoughts. My mother's eyes flashed to meet his. He nodded at her.

"The man you met, Renesmee." She said slowly.

I choked at first, but was able to speak. "Seth." I replied.

She nodded.

"_Looking for someone."_

My mind moved quickly. Pulling the pieces together, forming a conclusion in seconds.

"They're looking for you, mama." I spat out, still processing the idea as I said it.

Daddy pinched the bridge of his nose. He turned from us and walked across the room.

"Why?" I asked simply, the inner child in me appearing before them.

Mama sighed, "We . . . aren't sure. Maybe to see if I'm still human. Maybe to see if I have turned. Maybe just to see me." She smiled simply, almost like she was trying to convince herself.

"Or to kill you." Daddy spat out like venom. "I don't know why that _dog_ cannot let you go."

I blinked a few times at the harshness of my father's tone. He had never gotten this upset in my entire life. Seth, kill my mother? Why?

"Not him." Daddy seethed.

My mind flashed again, this time with a name.

Jacob.

Daddy hissed, pinching the bridge of his nose then crossing his arms. Pacing, contemplating. Shuddering.

"Who is Jacob, mama?" I turned to my mother. My eyes bore into hers. "Seth said – he said that Jacob was looking for you. That you disappeared. That you are friends."

She pursed her lips, her brows coming together. "Yes, we were friends Renesmee."

Were. They _were_.

"Not anymore?"

Daddy was crouching in front of me, he took my face in his hands and stared at me. Hard. I let him into my mind. I replayed every moment I had spent with Seth. I showed him my mind as it was bored with the human's history. I showed him what I smelled when Seth came into the classroom. I flipped through sounds, scents and conversations.

He kissed my cheek and stood up, walking towards the door.

"Edward," my mother nearly shouted. Unnecessary for a vampire. "don't."

He stopped in his tracks, his shoulders slouching. "Bella, I have to. I will not let him near you. He cannot come near you." Daddy sounded . . . hurt. Scared almost. He was always calm. My father never faltered, never even raised a single doubt in my mind of his unwavering strength. But right now? He seemed unsure. Afraid.

Of losing my mother.

To who, a man? A dog? What did he mean by dog?

"Renesmee. Jacob and Seth . . . they come from a Native American tribe. The Quileute." Daddy said, quickly answering my questions. "They have . . . abilities. Not like ours. Not like yours." He ran a hand through his hair, it looked . . . shaky.

I nodded, my attention fully on my father.

He continued, "Do you remember Uncle Jaspers stories, of the children of the moon?"

_Yes._

"Jacob and Seth . . . they aren't exactly like that. They're different, but similar."

My breath caught in my throat. Seth, was he worse than the children of the moon? The beasts who changed under a full moon, who's bloodlust was uncontrollable? Who could shred an entire coven to pieces without even trying?

"They call themselves shape-shifters."

I was frozen. _Shape-shifters_. I repeated in my mind. Shift into _what_?


	3. Pine, Honey, and Fall Leaves

**A/N: **Hi. If anyone is reading this, thank you! I'm not really sure where I'm going with this yet, so bare with me. We might be in it for the long haul. Please review if you do read, and tell me what you'd like to see.

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Chapter Three – Pine, Honey and Fall Leaves

* * *

_and I don't want the world to see me_  
_'cause I don't think that they'd understand_  
_when everything's meant to be broken_  
_I just want you to know who I am_

_\- the goo-goo dolls, iris_

_oOoOo_

The weekend came and went, and I had more questions than answers. We knew, Jacob was searching for my mother, and the likeliness is that he tracked her into Canada. What we weren't sure of, is that they knew I was involved at all. If they knew who I was, what I was. If Seth came to my school to infiltrate my life. If it was all apart of a plan.

Aunt Rose scoffed at the idea that the "dogs" could form such an elaborate plan. My mother was quick to defend them though, much to everyone's surprise.

It took convincing, on my part, for my parents to allow me to come to school. They wanted to run, to leave this town and get away from Seth and Jacob. But, I wanted to stay. I wanted to be normal, and finish the year. I wanted to graduate.

I didn't think we were in danger. I held the benefit of doubt in my mind.

My morning had started off hard. I had gotten zero sleep the whole weekend, and my mind would not shut off. My body felt as if it were being pulled through the halls, possibly just going through the motion to get the day over with. I didn't feel particularly safe, but I also wasn't scared out of my socks anymore. My Spanish class came quickly, and I was pleased to know the day was halfway over with and I hadn't run into Seth yet.

I entered the room and I smelled that musky scent again, but this time it was . . . different. Pine, honey, and the smell of fall leaves hit my nose. It was pleasantly wonderful. I dumped my things on a desk way in the back of the room and looked up. Searching for where the scent came from. My eyes landed at the teacher's desk. I blinked a few times. Disbelief coursing through my veins. This had to be a mistake.

Mr. Black was written messily on the blackboard.

I felt my body tense, my heart accelerating. No, no way. Had he found me, on purpose? Was this just to get to my mother?

He turned around and caught my gaze. Our eyes locked and my body almost went limp. I was weak in my knees. His dark eyes held mine, my fingers twitched a bit and tingles went down my spine. I couldn't take my eyes away from his. I felt numb, as if gravity left and my body was floating. My breath was caught in my throat and my chest felt heavy. My stomach turned upside down as if there were hundreds of butterflies fluttering about. I was . . . in awe.

I exhaled sharply as I sat down. My shaking hands gripping the table for support. My eyes scanned his entire body. He was so beautiful. His white teeth shined brighter than pearls against his magnificent copper skin.

He wasn't here to hurt me, there was no way. I couldn't see him doing that. I didn't _want_ to see him doing that.

He licked his lips and opened his mouth to speak, but closed it quickly. He swallowed loudly, and my fingers twitched again watching his jaw tense as he swallowed. He turned abruptly and began to fiddle with some things on his desk. I watched as his biceps flexed through his shirt every time he moved, I was getting caught up and felt the heat rush to my cheeks.

I bit my bottom lip and continued to gawk at him. His eyes met mine for a second before he broke into a huge grin, I looked down and let my hair curtain my bright red cheeks. I was supposed to be scared, terrified of this man. My parents were certain he was here to do destruction.

It was silent for a few moments, but it felt like eternity. I just want to look at him again. He is _so_ beautiful. He couldn't be this man that turned into a giant dog beast, could he? They could have it wrong. He could just be a normal, regular human.

I wished. I wished so hard, for a false truth that I wasn't even sure why I wanted.

"Star pupil?" he laughed softly, trying to lighten up the situation as he walked over to me.

_Breath. Breath. Breath. Exhale. _

"Ye-yeah, I uh – um," I replied, focusing on my breathing. "always am early."

"I see, that's why you have the highest grade in here . . . Miss. Masen." He flashed me another dazzling smile and I forgot how to breath again. I was terrified, but in a totally hot for teacher kind of way.

_Okay, whoa. Pull it together._

He leaned against the table in front of me, facing me with crossed arms. I watched his muscles flex under his blue dress shirt_._

"I uh – um . . . well -" I stuttered a bit more and flashed my eyes to the ground.

He put his hand on the desk lightly, trying to get my attention. My eyes darted up to meet his quickly. Warm, and brown. Like toffee. His hair was longer, but not shaggy. It was neatly parted on the side and pushed behind his ears. Raven black and silky, a wonderful contrast to his russet skin.

"Are you alright?" he questioned, his tone soft and concerned. Genuine.

My breath hitched, I was still frozen. My mind was moving all too fast and too slow at the same time.

I knew two things. Two, undeniable truths.

I knew that he was a vampire, killing machine. Bred through generations of shape-shifters, passing down the gene to create the strongest wolf-beast they could.

I also knew that the kindness in his eyes told me otherwise. They told me stories of a troubled past, and secrets I wanted so badly to hold the key to. His eyes, warm and inviting . . . could not be the eyes of a man who would harm me, could they?

I felt like crying. I felt like hiding, or running. Or all three. I couldn't breathe. I couldn't think. Fear and desire were fighting in my body, conflicting me in every direction. Could he see that on my face? Could he read my body language? Could he smell me? Smell the traces of my family, of my blood?

"Do you need to go to the nurse?" He asked me, the concern in his voice evident now.

I was dumbfounded. He didn't even seem real.

He wasn't a teacher. He couldn't be a teacher . . . this has to be a set up.

"Carlie." His voice was low, and deep. Different than before. I felt my eyes snap up to meet his, unable to deny his . . . command?

"Yes." I barely managed to say with a whisper. I started to stand but felt my knees buckle. I almost hit the floor before two hot hands steadied me, gripping my waist tight. His fingers curled against my sweater, both of us holding our breath staring at one another.

He lifted me up, and wrapped an arm around my waist. "I'm going to take you to the nurse's office now, okay?"

I couldn't speak, his hands felt like fire even through the layers of clothing. His smell was intoxicating. He was so close. I simply nodded and let him walk me out the door and down the crowded halls.

I cast my eyes down and didn't look up the whole walk. Too scared to see anyone looking, staring at me. Staring at him.

At us.

_Us. _

I looked up, briefly. This man, was not at all what I imagined. I pictured someone much less kind, less _handsome_. His eyes fell to meet mine. He looked over me with worry clouding his toffee eyes.

We made it to the nurse's office and he sat me in the chair. He hovered in the doorway, his body language wanting to stay but his eyes looking around for an exit.

"I should – I'm going to – call your parents."

I choked on the water I was drinking, suddenly he was at my side pounding my back. The nurse looked alarmed at the interaction.

"I'm going to go grab some more water . . ." She mumbled, shooting concerned glances between both of us.

I looked back at him. Too nervous to think his name.

"Don't. Please." I croaked.

He crossed his massive arms. "Alright, but – please – um – come back to me - my - class when you are done here."

Now he was the one who seemed nervous. I watched him hesitantly walk away, his eyes not leaving mine until he was out of the room.

Did he know who I was? Was that why he wouldn't stop staring?

The nurse came back, and asked me how I felt. I explained I just got dizzy, I hadn't had breakfast. A lie.

She made a note and sent me on my way with a granola bar after 20 minutes of lying down. I tossed it in the garbage as soon as I was out of the offices. I walked a little way down the empty hall, and found a spot against the lockers to sit. I leaned back and slid down until I hit the floor. I looked up at the ceiling. I was so confused. So unsure of what was going on, what their intentions were. Was this just a coincidence?

The bell rang, and I sprung to my feet quickly. How long had I been sitting? Teenagers flooded the halls, but I could barely move.

"Carlie, I'd like to have a word with you." A deep voice vibrated behind me. I jumped, startled at how close he was. I turned to see him. Jacob. Mr. Black.

I blinked a few times, was this happening? Did he know?

I followed him to his classroom, and he shut the door behind us.

As soon as he turned to face me, I couldn't hold it in any longer. I had to cut the tension, I HAD to know. I did exactly what I was told not to do.

I confronted.

"I know who you are."

He froze, eyes locking with mine. "I know who you are. I know what you are. I know why you're here." My new found confidence would either get me the answers I wanted . . . or kill me.

He seemed to choke a little, but cleared his throat. "I'm not sure -"

I cut him off, "Don't." I whispered back. I was being defensive. Protective of my mother.

He let out a shaky breath, and ran his hands through his perfectly set hair. Making it messy and disheveled.

My heart quickened and he snapped his attention towards me. He heard it.

"I wasn't expecting her to . . . have you." He said softly. His eyes tender. "Everything changed. When I saw you."

My expression softened under his gaze. My confusion on the other hand rose.

"What do you mean when you saw me?" I asked.

He reached his hand behind the nape of his neck and rubbed. "I meant – uh – I meant that, I saw you were half of her. And – I don't know. I just didn't expect you. So things changed, my mind mostly." He said all too quickly.

"What were you expecting then?" I questioned pointedly.

He seemed to pause in his thoughts before opening his mouth, "I don't know. I really don't. I just – I guess I was curious. I had worried and wondered for so long I decided to do something. I wanted to know that she was . . . okay. Happy. She was my best friend. I needed to know."

My heart was touched, and I was much happier knowing my father was wrong.

"So, you're not here to kill her, or my father." I spat out.

He shook his head. "No. A long time ago, I thought about it. I thought about it a lot."

I didn't like that answer, but I appreciated his raw honesty.

"How did you . . . know about me?" I questioned simply.

He inhaled sharply. "I didn't. Until yesterday."

I raised an eyebrow, "When I met Seth."

"When you met Seth." He confirmed.

I blinked a few times, and let myself fall into a chair. He wasn't here to kill my family; he wasn't here to do anything to them or me. He was here because he wanted to check on my mom. Simple. His kind intentions made my heart swell inside my chest.

"Did he know?"

He shook his head. "Not at first. But then he told me . . . that he met someone. A girl. He told me your name. He described you. He said you smelled sweet, like pomegranates. And that your heart beat quicker than a human. And your temperature. How warm you were when he grabbed your wrist. Which he's sorry about, by the way. We figured it out pretty quick after that."

The details he gave seemed minute, but I liked knowing. He knew what I smelled like, what my heart sounded like. The thought sent my pulse through the roof again.

"So you _aren't_ dumb dogs, huh?" I teased. He kind of chuckled at that one. I pursed my lips, and decided to push my luck. "How did you know?"

Jacob let out a deep exhale, his arms crossing his chest. A thing he did often. "You can't tell? You look just like them."

This, I did know. I had my mother's eyes, big and chocolate brown. My father's hair, copper and curly. His straight bridge, but my mothers pointed nose tip. I had her freckles, and complexion. I had my father's height, and his graceful hands.

I cut my thinking short and shot another question at him. "Did you expect to meet me today?"

"No."

I furrowed my brows. "But you knew it was me when I walked in?"

He swallowed thickly. "Yes."

"How?" I demanded.

"Because, it made sense. Everything made sense." He murmured softly.

I blinked, not really understanding what he meant. But taking it as good news.

"And you won't kill me?" My voice barely above a whisper.

"No, oh – oh God no. You think I could do that? I could never – I would never. I will never hurt you, Carlie." He reassured, his voice borderline frantic.

It stung to hear him use my fake name. My human name.

"My name isn't Carlie." I declared. He looked taken aback, but intrigued.

"My name is Renesmee. Carlie is my middle name. Cullen has been used a lot in our family. So, Carlie Masen is my . . . cover name."

"Renesmee." He breathed. A dopey smile followed.

The bell rang, startling us both. Had we spent the entire lunch period talking? It felt like such a short amount of time.

"I have to go." I announced. Grabbing my bag off the floor and pulling myself up.

"Oh, oh – uh – yes. Sorry for keeping you. You didn't eat though, are you okay? I can write you a note . . ." He rambled, walking over to his desk and shuffling through papers.

I smiled half heartedly. "No note. Thanks, though. I don't eat the food here." I pulled the door open and looked back at him.

"Thanks, Mr. Black."

I slipped out the door before he could say another word and bounded down the halls. My history class was next, with Seth.

I walked into the buzzing classroom and made my way to my usual seat. Seth already sitting next to it in his.

"Carlie, hey. I just wanted to say – " He began mumbling to me as I sat down.

I slid into my seat and dropped my bag. "I already talked to Jacob. Its fine. I understand. Just don't eat me, okay?" I said lightly, my voice treading between joking and seriousness.

His eyes were wide. "Wait, you talked to him?"

I nodded, "I . . . confronted him. He just happens to be my Spanish teacher. Was that planned? Anyways, after Friday's weirdness, I went home and talked with my family. We figured it out pretty quick. You two have some nice tracking skills . . . for _dogs_." I teased.

He blinked in disbelief. "I – well - okay. You're not . . . freaked out?"

I leaned in close to him and looked around, and whispered so low no one but him and I could hear. "My parents are vampires; I think freaked out is the last adjective on my list I would use to describe how I feel." I pulled away with a small smirk.

He exhaled dramatically and leaned back in his seat. "I don't even have words honestly."

I rolled my eyes. "Find them, because you have questions to answer later."

Mrs. Kollas cleared her throat and began the lesson for the day. I zoned out instantly. Letting my mind wander as I stared out the window. I thought of my parents, how displeased daddy would be once he figured out I handled this on my own. I thought of Jacob next. Or should I call him Mr. Black? That felt weird. I thought of his russet skin, and dark hair. How it hung like curtains over his face when he ran his fingers through it. His kind, compassionate eyes. I caught myself trailing off. Recognizing what I was doing. I was daydreaming about my mom's old best friend. _My teacher_. What is wrong with me?

Mama was on my mind, too. Maybe her and Jacob could be friends again. It seemed the hard feelings were gone, at least on Jacobs side. I wasn't sure if my family would trust them though. I did. I didn't have a doubt in my mind.

I was safe with these werewolves.

My eyes flashed over to Seth, who was comically trying to jot down notes with two text books open. Did this mean he could be my friend? Or would that idea get shut down. It was my birthday in two weeks. The big one. My last birthday where I aged. I would for all sense and purposes be an adult. I could make my own personal choices on friends, right?

My mind stayed busy the rest of the day, still in a haze as I exited the school doors that I didn't even manage to notice I was walking behind Jacob. _Mr. Black_. I corrected myself.

"Mr. Black." I spoke quietly, silently hoping he wouldn't hear me.

He stopped and turned to look at me. A small smile escaped both of our lips.

"Re - " I shot him a pointed glare. "Carlie." He corrected.

I gained some confidence. "I believe you owe my family an explanation."

He raised an eyebrow, but before he could speak Seth came between us, slapping a hand down on Jacobs shoulder.

"We sure do." Seth chimed in.

I gave a half smile. "I'm sure you know where we live, or you can figure it out. Dinner is at 7." I quipped. I walked past them and smiled, flicking my hair behind me for added effect.

Now . . . all I had to do was get my family on board. There couldn't possibly be anything wrong with two werewolves eating dinner at a house full of vampires . . . who don't eat food.

Right?


	4. Alpha

**A/N: **Thank you for the reviews, hope you all like this chapter! I rewrote it about four times, trying to get the right dialogue down. I'm trying not to rush this plot like I did in the previous write, but also keeping the imprint attraction as realistic as possible is important to me. Let me know what you think!

* * *

Chapter Four - Alpha

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_all you have to do is close your eyes _  
_and just reach out your hands and touch me  
__hold me close don't ever let me go _

_\- more than words, extreme_

oOoOo

The doorbell rang, but I stayed right where I was. Too afraid to come down and witness any possible meltdowns. My family did not take it well when I said two werewolves were coming over for dinner . . . but they also did not oppose it.

I heard muffled voices, and my fathers signature bridge-pinching-aggressive-nose-breathing sound. He was agitated but . . . holding it back.

I decided to come down at this point, to do damage control. I flew down the stairs and nearly ran into a wall of tension. I anxiously looked around at my family's expressions. Seth and my father shook hands, exchanging smiles.

"It's great to see you, Seth." Daddy said, patting him on the shoulder.

Seth gave him a wider smile, "Its been a long time, Edward."

My attention shifted towards my mother, he hands kept reaching out towards Jacob then dropping to her sides.

"It's . . . okay, Bells." He said, breaking the silence.

She gave him a half hearted smile, "I can't believe its you. And Seth. Here." She shook her head a little as if she had to wake up from a dream.

"In the flesh." Seth chirped, a smile gracing his face.

My father did that really obnoxious bridge-pinching-aggressive-nose-breathing sound again and turned away from the werewolves. "Jacob." He hissed.

My eyes darted back and forth between them, finally settling on Jacob.

"I – we need to talk, Edward." Jacob said quietly. His eyes flashed to mine, and I watched his expression soften. My hands twitched towards him.

"Hi." He breathed while stepping towards me.

I blinked a few times, my stomach turning upside down. "Hi." I replied. "Did you . . . make it alright?"

My father cut our conversation short, and stepped in between us. "Now. Outside." He hissed.

My mother shot concerned glances between the two of them. "Edward." She chided.

"Bella, love, not now." My father placed a hand on her cheek and kissed her forehead. While passing me, he kissed mine too.

Jacob shot me a glance before disappearing out front with my father.

"Daddy wont hurt him, right?" I blurted out. My family's expressions ranged from shocked to sympathetic.

"No, Renesmee." My mother assured, placing two hands on my shoulders behind me.

Seth was looking at me, his expression unreadable.

Mama let go and went over to Seth, "How are you?" she asked him.

He grinned and pulled her into a hug. My Uncles stood up quick and leaned towards the two of them.

"Relax, she is practically my sister." Seth said in defense.

My mother pulled away from him, "How is your mom?"

Seth shrugged, "She's great. Charlie treats her amazingly." His ever present smile fell. "He misses you."

My mother stepped back, and motioned for him to walk into the kitchen with her. I was glued in my place; this wasn't what I was expecting. But, honestly . . . what was I expecting? Maybe a bit more hostility, maybe some yelling? My parents had them separated . . . was there some unspoken plan between them?

My mind begun racing. My parents were not the kind to make plans and not include me. We did everything together. We had a pact. To always stick together. Forever.

"Plus que ma proper vie." I whispered, clutching the locket that hung from my neck.

I heard faint footsteps, then louder ones fall behind them.

"More than my own life." My father murmured behind me, a cold hand resting on my shoulder. "Renesmee, calm your mind." I turned to face him, my hair flowing with my movements.

I gave him a half smile, and let my eyes wander the room. My family all seemed calm. Keeping themselves busy with books, chess, knitting . . . all things they did usually. No threats. No tension. Perfectly normal behavior.

Seth and my mother came back into the room and Jacob cleared his throat.

"We are not here to do harm." Jacob stated. "It's been years since I have seen all of you. A lot has changed in the last 6, almost 7 years. For the last two, we have been tracking you. I held off for a long time, though. When Sam was Alpha, he refused to let me leave the reservation. But, Seth and I broke off from our pack. We came, out of curiosity, and also sympathy. Charlie is my fathers best friend, and Seth's mother's partner. To see the hurt, he has faced with Bella's absence has affected not only him, but our community. Our tribe has embraced him, lifted him. But there's only so much we can do." Jacob's voice was strong and mature; I felt my knees weaken. His authority rang in my ears.

"We didn't expect to come across you so quickly. We built our home base, I got a job and Seth went back to school. We weren't sure if you would be going through another round of high school, something you frequent a lot." Jacob commented, eyeing the framed art that contained row after row of graduation caps. "We needed money, and Seth does need his degree. It made sense."

I stepped out from under my father's hand. "But, then you met me." I recalled. My eyes only on Jacob.

He looked right into my eyes. His skin was dewy, perspiration speckled along his nose. Being around my family must be difficult for him. He was even more beautiful to me this way. He was vulnerable, and honest.

"Then I met you, Renesmee." He said softly, taking a hesitant step forward. It looked like he wanted to reach for me.

Could he feel the pull, too?

"She changed all of our plans!" Seth blurted out, stepping between us. Blocking our line of sight from one another.

I shifted in my place, so I could look over Seth's shoulder at Jacob again. His toffee eyes bore into mine.

"Now what's your plan?" I asked, noticing everyone else in the room falling away from my vision. It was just us. My mind was hazy with warmth, recalling the feeling of his fingers gripping my waist the first time we met. I didn't know what was happening, or why I felt this intense connection with him. I just wanted it to be him and I. Talking, laughing. Exploring . . .

My father made a hissing grunt. I snapped my eyes to him, realizing everyone was staring between Jacob and I.

"Oh, you've _got _to be kidding me!" Aunt Rose roared. "First Bella, now you –"

"Rosalie!" My father yelled back.

"Are you seriously going to let this _mutt _– "

Grandma Esme stood up, dropping her knitting needles on the floor.

"Lasagna is going to get cold." She cut in, louder than I've ever heard her speak.

What was Aunt Rose angry about? What did she mean by _"First Bella."? _

I guess this is what happens when you ask Vampires and Werewolves to hang out, huh?

I looked to my father and saw a crooked smirk appear on his face. _Always in my head._

I felt myself be chauffeured into the kitchen. A seat pulled out for me and I was guided down. I stared at the werewolves in front of me, and they stared right back. My grandma and parents hovering across the room. Watching us intently.

Jeesh, I definitely was way off with my imagination on how this evening would go.

I decided to cut the tension and dig into the dish of lasagna on the table. I scooped a helping onto my plate and dug in, taking a sip of water after each bite. Human food was fine, albeit not my favorite compared to grizzly. Grandpa Carlisle kept me on a strict diet. I was to eat equal parts human food to blood. 'To keep both my halves coexisting smoothly.' He would always tell me.

Jacob's eyes never wavered the entire dinner . . . always, _always_ looking at me. I would catch his gaze and he would look away, but I wished he wouldn't. We ate in complete silence. Well, besides the sounds of them scarfing down the pasta dish. I had never witnessed anyone eat so fast.

I was finished, and watching attentively as they finished off every bite of the lasagna. I was impressed . . . and kind of grossed out. But, I guess that's what happens when you turn into giant dogs.

"Wolves." My father corrected me. We all looked across the room at the same time, my father had the same crooked smirk on his face as he usually does. "As much as I enjoy you calling them dogs, my love . . . the proper name would be wolves. They shape-shift into wolves, not puppies."

_Well, I wasn't exactly picturing a golden retriever_. I shot back in my mind.

"Do you . . . want to see?" Jacob asked me, uncertainty wavering in his voice.

How was I expected to get through the rest of the year with him as my teacher when he spoke to me like that. The way he even looked at me made it hard to concentrate.

On cue, as I expected, daddies classic bridge-pinching-aggressive-nose-breathing sound cut through the room.

"Get out of my head then." I grumbled. I felt the air shift and my eyes glanced over at my mother. She smiled and tapped the side of her head.

Thank goodness for my mother's ability to shield.

I pushed myself up and out of my chair, and looked over at Seth. His eyes just darting back and forth between Jacob and I.

"You want to show her?" He asked, disbelief coating his voice as he shot out of his seat.

Jacob stood this time too, towering over Seth and I. "I don't want her having any reason of being afraid of me - of us." He corrected himself, his eyes carefully meeting mine again. I would never get sick of them. So warm, and inviting.

"Jacob, Sam said - " Seth argued.

"Sam is _NOT_ your Alpha." Jacobs voice vibrated through the room, so powerful and intense. Seth backed away, his shoulders slumping like he was . . . cowering.

I felt my breath hitch, and an odd tightness in my stomach hit me. I clenched my legs, and stared at Jacob. He was towering over Seth with such authority. It made sense now, why I felt compelled to listen to him. Jacob was an Alpha. The Alpha wolf. The though of him having authority over me . . . sent shivers down my spine.

I had never felt these emotions before, but I finally knew what I was feeling. It clicked in my mind after witnessing him correct Seth. I had learned from my lessons with Grandpa Carlisle on human biology and anatomy. I felt lust, desire . . . I wanted him. I wanted him so badly for reasons beyond my comprehension. He was beautiful, strong and so enchanting. From the way his hair moved to how his voice changed when he spoke to me. I wanted to . . . kiss him. I thought of how it would feel to bring his full lips against mine.

There were worse things in this world, than being hot for my shape-shifting Spanish teacher, right?

"Show me." I murmured, my voice breathy and low. "I want to see."

Jacob took his attention away from reprimanding Seth and focused back on me. I could swear, time slowed every time we made eye contact.

"Whatever you want . . . but it should probably wait." He shot a nervous glance at daddy, then he came back to my eyes. "Its dark now, and a lot has happened today already. I don't want to push it. You should decompress."

My eyebrows came together and I frowned. "I'm fine." I insisted. "Really."

"Renesmee." Was all he had to say to make me melt. His Alpha voice with me was low and raspy, nothing like the voice he used with Seth. He was driving me insane already. I won't possibly be able to survive this torture. The sexual tension between us was thick - or at least, _my_ sexual tension for him was.

"When then?" I pushed. I wanted to see him transform. I wanted to see the raw, animalistic side to him. I _needed_ to.

He took a deep breath, "Maybe - um - this weekend?" He questioned, seeming unsure that I would be willing.

"Yes." I breathed. "I will wait." My face felt hot, and I knew everyone could see the blush on my cheeks.

My father cleared his throat, breaking us of our intense conversation. How did that keep happening? The rest of the world fell away when I looked into Jacob's eyes. This was proving to be difficult for me to keep under control.

"I think Renesmee should be getting to her room, I'm sure you have homework, love?" My mother asked, coming towards me to usher me out of the room. She already knew the answer was no but I believe she was trying to put distance between us.

"I - uh . . . okay." I replied with defeat, knowing I would not be getting out of this. "Goodbye Jacob . . . I'll see you tomorrow." My stomach twisted delightfully at the thought.

"Bye." Seth grumbled, obviously hurt I forgot a farewell to him.

I rolled my eyes as I was led out the room. "Bye, Seth!"

I shot one last glance at Jacob before leaving the kitchen and being guided through the living room and up the stairs to my room.

Once in the safety of my bedroom, my mother shut the door behind us. I fell back on my bed and looked up gleefully at the ceiling while pulling a pillow close to my body. A dopey smile was stuck on my face.

"Excuse me." My mother cleared her throat.

Sighing, I pulled myself up to face her. "Yes?"

She scoffed and crossed the room to sit next to me. "Renesmee Carlie Cullen, _what_ was all of that about?"

I couldn't help but smile when Jacob crossed my mind again, as if he ever left it to begin with. My attraction for him was growing quickly, it felt irrational but also made all the sense in the world. Was this just my first crush?

"I don't know . . . he just - ugh. I cannot talk to _you_ about this." I whined and threw myself back on my bed, covering my blushing face with my pillow.

"You can, and you will." She stated sternly.

I groaned and rolled over, "I think I have a crush on him."

She put a hand on my shoulder, "I noticed."

I groaned louder, "Is it obvious?" Shoving my face harder into my pillow, this was so embarrassing.

"It didn't necessarily go unnoticed." She replied truthfully.

"Dad knows, he – ""

"Read your mind. I know." She finished for me. "I could tell . . . it was bothering him."

"He would never, even in a million years, let me have a boyfriend. Let alone have a crush on a _werewolf_." I mumbled, turning my head to face her. My rosy cheek still pressed against the sheets.

She chuckled, her laugh sounding like wind chimes. "You would be surprised."

I perked up, looking harder at my mother. "You really don't think he would crucifix Jacob if anything ever happened?" I began, "Not that it ever would . . . I doubt he even thinks that of me. He's not going to ever be interested in a 'teenager.'" I finished with air quotes and flopped back down on the bed. I was feeling completely defeated.

"Renesmee," She said my name soft and soothingly. "You're no longer a teenager. You will be fully matured in two weeks." She rubbed my back, making circles with her palms. "It may only be your seventh birthday, but Nahuel stated your body would be closer to appearing to be 21 years old. I am the last one in this family who would like to admit it, but you are no longer a little girl. You are a full grown woman, and any man would be wildly out of their mind not to feel the same way about you."

I rubbed my eyes and crawled across my bed towards her. "You really think so, mama?"

It seemed unlikely that my mother would support me, especially my affections towards a man so much older than me and not to mention . . . a vampire's true enemy. She was always the more understanding one between my father and herself, but this just seemed way left field. It seemed too good to be true, like there was something she knew that I didn't. I pushed the thought down, there was no way she would keep anything from me. We told each other everything.

She smiled down at me, caressing my hair like she used to do when I was very small. "I know so."


	5. Like Breathing

**A/N:** Alright, so I finally finished reading my original write of Outcast from my old and inaccessible account TeamwerewolvesForever (Seriously, I'm cringing. 15-year-old me was extremely corny and also so inappropriate?!) and again, I could not stop wincing at how horrible the writing was. So. Horrible. I feel like I did so many things wrong. So, here is my completely unprovoked self criticism that literally no one asked for.

A) The Cullen's would never go that long without realizing Renesmee was hanging out with werewolves – which is why I rewrote them finding out within the first few chapters. (Present me is kicking past me in the shin and going ? over my plot choices) It makes much more sense. Their scent, Alice's visions (In the final scenes of Breaking Dawn, it is revealed she can see Renesmee in her visions after all - but, my theory is that she just had to get used to her being in her life in order to see her.)  
B) The way I wrote the characters – wrong. I was extremely uneducated in character development and had a huge sense of imagination. I don't think Renesmee would be as flamboyant and rude as I wrote her in the original. I picture a more delicate, unique, naïve but kind girl, hence why her attitude and dialogue is much different this time around. But, again - I was 15. Can you blame the hormones, or what?  
C) Jacob was just plain weird in the original. Jacob is a respectful, kind and thoughtful character and would never kiss or make a move on his imprint without knowing her 100% had her blessing. Pre-Renesmee Jacob, yes (Hello, Bella punching teenage Jacob). But post-Renesmee, nope. This write will feature a thoughtful, easy going Jacob who is respectful of Renesmee. Don't get me wrong, he will definitely be pining after her as well, she just won't know it for awhile.

Okay, I'm done. If you actually read that, congratulations. Now enjoy this chapter before I explode from past-me embarrassment.

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Chapter Five – Like Breathing

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_human in all my mistakes_  
_show me divine, show me grace_  
_just give it a one last thing_

_\- the goo-goo dolls, best of me_

oOoOo

I woke up the next morning the same way I fell asleep, with my mother laying next to me, stroking my hair. My body was a little stiff, after realizing my mother laid next to me all night while I had very _intense_ dreams about one particular werewolf.

Dreams I definitely did not want daddy seeing.

"Good morning, my love." She whispered and kissed my forehead. "Esme made you breakfast."

I rubbed my eyes sleepily and let her help me sit up. "Okay, can it wait? I want to shower first."

She nodded and got up and left my room in the blink of an eye. I threw myself back onto my mattress and covered my face with the crook of my elbow. I can't believe I had dirty dreams about my teacher.

I pulled myself out of my bed and dragged my feet into my bathroom. I turned on the water and watched as steam began filling up the room. I stripped and grabbed the corner of my vanity's counter, I bent forward and faced the ground. I groaned internally, I needed to clear my head. But, how was I ever going to function around him? My crush was ridiculous.

I pushed myself back upright, and stepped into the shower. I felt the hot water rush down my head and along my body. The sensation felt better than normal, and it was all because stupid Jacob Black's hot hands on my waist yesterday. I could not get that out of my head. How dumb was that? I had a crush because my teacher helped me to the nurse's office.

"Ugh." I groaned out loud and slumped against the shower wall. Was this normal? Did normal, human teenager girls have weird thoughts about their intensely attractive teachers?

I exhaled a sigh and washed my hair and body thoroughly, trying to scrub away something that wasn't even there.

_Just my stupid, perverted thinking._

I shut off the water and wrapped my hair and body in a towel. I stepped toward my vanity and wiped the steam away from the mirror, facing my reflection this morning was especially difficult. I felt ashamed, and _so_ weird. I shook my head to try to clear my thoughts and pulled open my skin care drawer. I did my usual post-shower routine; lotion my body, tone my face, moisturize and then take the towel from my hair down. I brushed it out slowly, grabbing strands of hair and carefully brushing each section. My hair was straight right after but within seconds I watched as it curled back up into damp tendrils around my face.

I wrinkled my nose at my bare face, and decided maybe I would apply some makeup. I pulled open my fully stoked makeup drawer, curtesy to Aunt Alice, and picked up an eyebrow gel and combed my eyebrows into place. I brushed my lashes with mascara and applied a slight highlight. I wasn't an expect, but it looked alright.

I left my bathroom and walked through my room and headed to my closet. What to wear?

Usually, I didn't care and picked whatever was most comfortable – leggings, a t-shirt and boots. But, today . . . I wanted to try more than I usually did. I pulled on some high-waisted black jeans, an oversized green sweater that hung off of one shoulder and my eyes skimmed over the heels Aunt Alice insisted I have 'just in case'. I scoffed and picked up my distressed doc's instead and pulled them on over some socks. I looked in the full length mirror and tried to smooth my curls down against my head. I looked pretty good, albeit different than usual, but I would settle for that.

I bounced down the stairs and began my rounds of good mornings for my family.

"Good morning, daddy." I said shyly, kissing his cheek quickly.

He raised his eyebrows and gently grabbed my hand. "Renesmee, how did you sleep?"

My eyes widened and I held my breath, he was acting pretty nonchalant. Something he would not be if he had witnessed my dreams. I sighed in relief, piecing together that mama must have kept her shield up all night.

I smiled and put my free hand on top of his. "I slept well. Thank you, daddy."

My Aunt Rose pulled me into a cold, tight embrace and kissed my forehead. "Good morning, sweet girl. I'm so sorry for how I acted last night, will you forgive me?" She pulled away and looked into my eyes sympathetically. Rose had a sweet spot for me, and never once has been anything but doting.

I gave her a small smile, "Of course, Aunt Rose. I know you were just being protective."

Uncle Emmett came up behind her and ruffled the top of my head. "Morning, squirt."

I pushed his hand off my head and crinkled my nose. "Good morning, _Thor_." I replied with a laugh.

I pulled away from Aunt Rose to peck Aunt Alice and Uncle Jasper's cheeks as I passed them on the couch into the kitchen. "Good morning, Aunt Alice, Uncle Jas."

"Good morning, Renesmee." The said in unison, glancing up from the books they had open in their laps.

I wandered into the kitchen to see Grandpa Carlisle seated at the breakfast nook with the towns morning newspaper. He was always the most 'human' out of all of my family, considered he was surrounded by them day in and day out at the hospital. He looked up from the paper and gave me his warm smile. "Good morning, Renesmee. Did you sleep well?" I kissed his cheek and situated myself across the table from him.

"I slept great, Grandpa. Thank you." Just as I was turning my head to look at my Grandma Esme, she set a plate of pancakes, hash browns and eggs in front of me.

"Good morning, my dear. Eat up!" She cooed and kissed my head lightly before gliding out of the room.

I dug into my breakfast happily, morning foods were my favorite human food.

"When was the last time you hunted, Renesmee?" Grandpa Carlisle asked me, setting down his newspaper and looking at me with concern.

I paused, and thought about it. It has been at least a month now. "Maybe a month, why?"

He stood up and walked towards me, lifting my chin to turn my head side to side. "I'm not sure, but . . . you look a bit different. Your cheekbones are much more prominent. How is your thirst? Does it itch?" He dropped his hand and turned towards the kitchen island to grab the medical notebook he had sitting out next to his bag.

I lifted a hand to my throat. It did have a bit of a tickle, I definitely should go hunting before it got worse, but it was manageable. "Not terrible." I looked at the decorative mirror near the door way, getting up and making my way towards it.

I looked at my reflection and squinted my eyes. My face had thinned out a bit, but nothing I noticed on my own. Vampire's do have the best vison. I looked harder, and touched my hand to my face. I didn't look hungry, I looked older.

"Grandpa," I started, and turned to face him. He was flipping through past notes but paused when I said his name. "I'm not thirsty, I'm aging."

His golden eyes met mine, and within moments the kitchen was flooded with my family.

"What did you say?" My father hissed as he came up behind me. He turned me to face him and lifted my chin like Grandpa Carlisle did.

I rolled my eyes and brushed my father's hands away. "Daddy, its my seventh birthday in a few weeks. I'm going through my last spurt."

I was proud of myself for realizing this on my own. My whole life, Grandpa or daddy obsessed over my growth charts, tracking milestones and making notes of developments. But, for some reason neither of them had recognized the signs of a spurt. I usually got spells of dizziness, I was extra hungry for human food, had poor sleep due to an overactive mind, extreme mood swings and gradual changes to my physique would occur.

Dizziness; check.

Extra hungry; check.

Poor sleep; check.

Mood swings; nope. That would be fun when those hit me.

Physical changes; check.

It made sense now why I got dizzy around Jacob that day, why I wasn't so thirsty for blood, why I had those wild dreams and finally, why my face thinned out.

"Oh, _oh_ _my_." Grandma Esme said, bringing a hand to her mouth. "Our tiny Renesmee is almost full grown." If vampires could cry, she looked like she might.

I smiled at everyone, "Guys, don't worry. This is exciting. I'm excited!" I slid back into my seat and hastily finished my breakfast. I could already tell today was going to be a great day.

oOoOo

I walked into the hallway after my calculus class had ended, avoiding bumping into any humans as I went. I made my way to my locker but saw Allison leaning against it, chewing gum and applying lip gloss while looking into a compact mirror. Allison was one of my least favorite humans at this school. My sophomore year, when Allison's ex-boyfriend Harrison asked me to the homecoming, she started a rumor that I had chlamydia and only wanted to go out with Harrison to infect him and then get her sick when he went back to her. Humans are fun, right?

"Allison." I sighed. "I need to get into my locker."

She snapped her compact shut and narrowed her eyes at me. "Oh, _this _is your locker?"

She knew it was my locker.

"I literally do not understand your problem with me, other than assuming you might be insecure, but honestly I don't care. Please, move over."

Mood swings; check.

She scoffed and stood up straight, "I don't know why you think you can talk to me like this, you're a nobody." She spat at me, poking my shoulder aggressively in the process.

I let out a short laugh, while also internally cringing recognizing I was in the middle of a full blown mood swing. "Oh, because being a cheerleader means you're a somebody, right? Look here Allison, I'm going to tell you a secret." I stepped up towards her and leaned towards her ear. "Being a cheerleader doesn't get you anywhere besides on your back." I said with a sneer. I shouldered her out of the way and started unlocking my locker.

Yep. _Extreme _mood swings.

"You little fucking – "

A familiar voice cleared his throat, and soon the scent of fall hit my nose.

_Jacob_.

"Ladies, I'm sure both of you have classes to get to?" He inquired. I grabbed my Spanish textbook, and slammed my locker shut. I shot a glare at Allison and walked past both of them.

I was so irritated I could probably smash a car. Or kill a bear on my own. Or both.

I walked into his classroom and flung my bag at the ground next to my seat and sat down aggressively. I swear if I didn't have the strength I did I would have punched her in her stupid human face.

"Renesmee." Jacob whispered softly to me, so low only I could hear it.

His voice brought me a step down from my fit of rage, but damn it I was still pissed off.

"What?" I grumbled, refusing to look up from my desk.

He touched my desk with one finger, enough to get me to snap my eyes to meet his. "Relax, she's gone. You handled that well."

I handled that well? I scoffed at his comment. "What, did you think I would eat her?" I sneered.

Hurt crossed his features and he pulled his hand away. "I mean – no. I just – I was glad to see that you stood up for yourself. I was proud." He replied, nervousness in his tone.

My expression softened and I felt my wall of rage collapse. Jacob was so kind.

"Thank you." I mumbled, my cheeks turning bright red. I tucked some curls behind my ear and bit my bottom lip.

He looked around the room, no one else was here yet. He bent down towards me, he was eye level now and so close. So close I could taste his breath, it was minty and sweet.

I gulped but couldn't look away. Those lips . . . those eyes . . .

"I think she was just jealous, because you look very nice today." He assured, grinning as he stood up and walked away from me. He turned towards the board and began scrawling some of our lesson plan points for the period.

Did he just say I looked nice?

My head was spinning, but this time I don't think it was from my spurt. The world around me stopped moving. My face was red hot - no _burgundy_. I was sweating and my stomach felt like it was flipping inside out. He said I looked very nice. That was a compliment.

The world started moving again as I came down from my hot-for-teacher high. Teens flooded the classroom just as the bell rung and it was no longer just him and I.

My attention never wavered the entire class. I raised my hand just to answer questions so I could talk to him. I wrote down every word he said in my notes, and blushed every time his eyes would meet mine. The school year had just begun, and I already knew I was going to pass this class with flying colors. Was Jacob really a good teacher, or was I just caught up on every word that left his lips?

I looked him over as he leaned against his desk, both palms down while he stared down at his book. His sleeves of his blue dress shirt were rolled and he had loosened his tie. Fucking hell. My dirty dream from last night slammed into my brain again.

_He lifted me onto his desk, pushing papers away and growling hungrily against my neck. He ran his nose against my jaw line, skimming over my skin with his lips. My body was on fire, and my breath came out in jagged bursts. He pushed me down gently, but I tried to pull myself back up towards his lips. He was on top of me, his rough, hot hands rubbing every inch of my skin. My thighs, my hips, my waist. I buckled towards him, whimpering under his smoldering body. He parted his lips over mine, panting into my mouth. His breath tasted like honey._

The bell rang abruptly, pulling me out of my Jacob-fueled haze. I inhaled sharply and looked around. No one was looking at me; good.

"There is a quiz on Friday, please review your notes and start your projects. They are due in one week!" He yelled at the students who were nearly running out of the room for lunch.

I packed my bag slowly, counting the extra minutes I got with him before I left. But, mostly trying to bring myself back down from the hill I was climbing in my mind.

"You were very attentive today." He commented with a chuckle. I looked up as I zipped my bag closed and slung it over my shoulder. He was erasing the board, and I noticed his biceps flex with the pressure he applied to the eraser. I bit my lip and crossed my legs tightly, my daydream was not helping me right now.

I felt bold though, I could try harmless flirting. "You're a very good teacher, Mr. Black." I sassed, my voice raspy and low.

He stopped erasing and I watched his back tense. He turned his head and his eyes met mine, but this time they weren't warm like toffee. They were darker, hazier than usual. I felt my stomach turn and I let out a short breath.

I was going to die from frustration. And it would be all his fault.

"Did you still want to see?" He replied, his voice equally as raspy.

I blinked a few times, my hormonal high made me forget about the promise Jacob made to me. To let me see what he shape-shifted into.

Suddenly, I was embarrassed of shamelessly flirting with him. He was just being nice to me.

"Uh – yes. Of course. But," I furrowed my brows, remembering he said this weekend. "you said this weekend?"

He ran his hand through his hair, disheveling it in the process. That was definitely one of my favorite things he did.

"I – I know." He sighed, "But, uh – Seth mentioned inviting you over to hang out, uh, today so I figured . . . " He seemed so nervous, his voice stuttered and he was looking away from me.

"I can come over, today." I breathed out a little too quickly. "I would love to."

_Alright, relax there Renesmee. He's just trying to be polite._

He chuckled and sighed again. "Okay, I'll see you later then."

I gave him a wide smile and backed away. "Okay, bye Jacob – Mr. Black." I corrected myself, and bounced out of his classroom.

My head was spinning, and I couldn't stop grinning. I had to knock it off with this crush. I had to pull myself back down, distract myself –

"Hey!" Seth yelled from behind me. I turned and gawked as he draped an arm around my shoulders. "What's up?" I stuttered in my steps but kept walking, his body heat radiating around me like a personal heater.

A light went off in my mind. Distract myself. Oh, _oh_ yes. This was going to be one of my better plans.

I would become friends with Seth, best friends. That way, I had an excuse to come over. I could see Jacob, learn about Jacob from Seth – okay. Wow, this sounded worse than I thought it was going to be. But . . . a friendship couldn't hurt, its not like I was _only _using him to get to Jacob, right? I still needed a friend, and Seth didn't seem like a bad option.

"Hi," I replied sassily. "nothing at the moment. I always skip lunch, the food here isn't the greatest."

He stopped us in our tracks. "_Skip_ lunch? Are you crazy?"

I rolled my eyes and wrapped my arm that was against his side around his back. "Come on, moron. We're going to that diner. I always go, its right down the street and they never even notice me leave."

He tensed for a moment when I put my arm around him, but relaxed after a few seconds. He grinned down at me, his boyish charm ever-present. "Okay, whatever you say."

We walked out of the school like that, and towards my land rover. I dropped my arm and fished around in my bag for my keys. I unlocked it and shrugged his arm off my shoulder.

"Get in, loser." I joked and hoped into the front seat. He followed suit and turned on the radio as soon as I started the car.

"The channels here suck." He mumbled, skipping over another station.

I ransacked around my center console and found an aux cord. "Here." I chirped, shoving the cord against his rock solid chest as I pulled out of the parking lot. "Play whatever, just make sure its good. I do have a music snob as a father." I joked with a wink.

Rock music flooded my car, and I raised an eyebrow. "Alright, I can get down."

We both laughed and sang along together. "When you were here before, couldn't look you in the eye. You're just like an an-gel, your skin makes me cry. You float like a fea-ther in a beau-ti-ful world. I wish I was special, you're so fuckin' special!" We both started laughing and tapping the dash to the beat of the symbols.

"But I'm a creep," Seth sang obnoxiously, looking at me and paused.

"I'm a weirdo," I sang back, pretending to hold a microphone to my mouth.

In unison we both sang, "What the hell am I doin' here, I don't belong here!"

We both laughed hard as I pulled into a parking space and turned off my car. "Such a fitting song." I commented as my laughs slowed down, wiping the tears from the corners of my eyes.

We both got out of the car and Seth jogged ahead of me, holding the door open. "I agree."

We went back to the booth we sat in yesterday, and both ordered the same thing. Our conversation switched back and forth between music, interests and things we always wanted to do. Deciding to be Seth's friend wasn't as bad of an idea, after all.

It was easy to talk to him, like breathing.


	6. Nessie, Like The Loch Ness Monster

**A/N:** Happy New Year! This chapter took longer than I anticipated, but I'm pretty happy with how it came out! Read & review!

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Chapter Six – Nessie; Like The Loch Ness Monster

* * *

_in the instant that you love someone  
in the second that the hammer hits  
reality runs up your spine  
and the pieces finally fit_

_-elton john, the one_

oOoOo

I pulled my car into the garage and got out swiftly. I walked through the garage door and the smell of cake hit my nose. I pulled out my phone and opened the messages app to send a text to Seth.

_Have a feeling I'm gonna be a few . . . smells like cake here. _I typed out, looking it over and then pressing send. Sliding my phone back in my pocket, _I_ furrowed my brows and walked through the hallway and up the stairs. As I climbed, I gasped.

About ten different cakes were placed all throughout the living room.

"Renesmee!" My Aunt Alice chirped, clapping her hands together and rushing towards me. She pulled me up the last step and onto the couch.

"So, I've begun my planning for your super amazing, super special birthday party. I couldn't decide on flavors, since, you know, ew. But, you can! So, please taste all of these."

I choked on air and looked at her. Try all of these cakes? This would be a much better task for werewolves.

"Aunt Alice . . . there are more cakes here than I have fingers. I'll get sick."

She waved her hand at me, "No, no. Just take a bite. You'll be fine!" She held up a fork to me, her Crazy-Party-Planning-Aunt-Alice smile was plastered on her face.

I gave her a questioning glace, but took the fork. I stood and walked towards a cake. I dipped my fork into it and took a small piece. I flashed a look to Aunt Alice, her hands clasped together over her chest and the same maniacal grin was spread across her face.

I ate the bite and smiled. It was good, it tasted like vanilla and strawberries.

"Okay, I pick this one. Can I be done now?" I pleaded, hating the unnecessary attention of cake tasting. I was also getting anxious; I wanted this to be a short stop home so I could hurry over to Seth and Jacob's. I knew it was more about my longing to try to spend time with Jacob, but I couldn't exactly be like 'hey, I want to spend time with you' without seeming a bit strange. So, Seth will be my excuse for going over there. Its not like I don't like Seth, he was proving to be a good choice in company, but it wasn't the same. Jacob gave me butterflies, and made me nervous. I'm always composed, but around him – it all falls apart.

She stomped her foot, bringing me out of my thoughts "_Renesmee_, this is your big seven! Come on, indulge me." She begged, batting her eyelashes and pouting.

"Ugh." I groaned, but moved on to another cake. I took bite after bite, until I physically felt sick.

"Aunt Alice, I'm still picking the first one. I'm done now, okay?" I set the fork down and flopped on the couch, clutching my belly. "Too much sugar." I grumbled.

The front door opened and in glided the rest of my family. My dad looked at me and chuckled.

"Alice, we were gone two hours for a hunt and you managed to do all this?" He came over to me, sitting next to my head and stroking my hair. "Do you feel alright?"

I nodded, "Yes . . . I'm just having flashbacks to when Uncle Emmett took me to a candy store and let me eat everything."

Emmett's laughter filled the room, "You puked rainbow!" He continued to laugh until Rosalie shot him a glare. "Sorry, babe." He muttered.

My mother gave me a sympathetic smile, "So, which one did you pick?"

I grimaced, "The first one I tried, of course. She didn't believe me that I liked it." I shrugged and pulled myself up. I watched Grandma Esme blur into the kitchen then come right back out with a glass of water for me. I drank it fast and hiccupped after. "I think I'm going to go lay down . . ."

Mama helped me up and walked me to my room. "Do you need anything, maybe a bucket?" She joked, trying to get me to laugh.

I shook my head and laid on my bed, "I'll be alright. Maybe just a nap."

She nodded and left my room, pulling the door closed as she went.

I grabbed my phone again and held it over my face.

_Is this an exclusive half vampire-half human cake tasting? _He replied, including a winkey face emoji

I chuckled and began typing back; _It's for my birthday party. That I don't want. _

I set my phone down and rolled over, closing my eyes and letting the sugar crash lull me to sleep.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

My eyes fluttered open and I looked around. Was it hailing?

Tap.

I flashed my eyes to my window, where I saw a pebble ricochet off the glass.

I crawled off my bed and unlocked the window, opening it swiftly and sticking my head out. I glanced down and there was Seth. My heart fell, for some crazy reason I let my mind fantasize that it was going to be Jacob.

"Did you forget about me?" He asked, throwing another pebble my way. I grabbed it mid air and sent it shooting right back at him. He yelped and dove out of the way.

"No, I fell asleep. Too much sugar." I laughed, and decided to show case some of my half-vampire skills. I swung my body gracefully out the window, and stepped onto the sliding roof. I efficiently jumped from the ledge to the ground, landing with a soft thump right in front of him. "You only came because you wanted cake, huh?"

He chucked and shook his head. "I can't believe you just jumped down from a three story high window."

I raised an eyebrow and started walking away from him. "I can't believe you were throwing rocks at my window instead of using the door." I shot a glance back to him to see him rubbing the nape of his neck and looking sheepish.

"I honestly took a wild guess as to which room was yours, my hearings great though so it wasn't too hard. And – I never have done that before. Can knock it off my bucket list."

We walked around front towards the door, and climbed the steps. "Bucket list, huh?" I questioned, raising an eyebrow again, this time to myself.

"Yes, my stupid-things-they-do-in-movies-that-don't-happen-in-real-life bucket list." He stated, with a matter of fact.

I snorted and pushed the front door open, walking into the foyer and through the archway leading into the living room.

"Aunt Alice!" I called. "I have another cake tester here."

She flew into the room from the kitchen, wearing a black apron with pin stripes running down it and the words 'Sassy Chef' embroidered on the front.

"No more cakes, we picked your cake. Now, I need a donut taster."

My eyebrows raised, "_Donuts_? For what?"

She scoffed, acting like I should know why. "Um. For your donut wall."

I blinked a few times, does she not realize I don't have any friends and the only ones who would be coming that do eat food are Seth, myself and hopefully – Jacob.

I heard my father chuckle behind me, "Renesmee, don't fret. She's planning three different versions of your party and is just . . . testing the ideas first."

I glared at him, but couldn't resist flashing him a smile. "Did she _see_ each version?"

He gave me his crooked grin and bowed his head a little before looking back up. "She saw one, but these are only – "

"Backup plans!" She squealed, flashing back into the kitchen and appeared before Seth in a single second. She held a tray of donuts up to him. "Eat."

He took the tray from her, and looked at me excitedly. "I mean – I'm not gonna say no . . ."

He plopped himself onto the couch and began happily eating the donuts, shoving one after another in his mouth.

"Ew, dude. Gross." I mumbled, situating myself in the love seat diagonal to him.

My mind kept trying to find ways to bring up going over to his house. I wanted to see Jacob – albeit Seth was good company, I just was itching to be close to Jacob. It was like a longing. Jacob had promised today, and I told him I would be there. What would he think of me if I went back on that?

"We can go back to my place, if you want. I have a couple gaming systems." Seth suggested, as if he was the mind reader.

I tried to hide my excitement, "Okay, let me go get my coat!" I exclaimed, flying out of the seat and running to my room. I grabbed the coat I had tossed on the floor and was back down in front of him before he could even reply.

He popped the last donut in his mouth and stood up, brushing any crumbs he lost off his lap.

"Ouhkuh – let's guh." He mumbled, a mouth full of donut. I crinkled my nose and turned on me heel towards the door.

"And where are you going?" Mama asked, walking into the room from the library.

I blushed and tucked a curl behind my ear. "Um, to – to Seth's. To play games."

She crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow. "We have games here."

I kicked the ground and looked up at her with my best pleading eyes I could manage. "Yeah, but not the games he has." I blinked a few times, trying to emphasize my tactic.

She sighed, "Go. You're lucky your Aunt Alice sent your father to the store for her cooking extravaganza."

I squealed and ran out the door, Seth bounding behind me. "Where's your car? I asked.

He looked at me with a funny expression. "I ran here."

"You ran here?" I reiterated as a question.

"Yeah, Jacob has a car and I don't. So - I ran."

I chuckled, and walked down the hill towards the driveway. I entered the code to the garage once I got to the door and stood by while it opened. Not patient enough to wait for it to open completely, I ducked and walked under. I pulled the keys out of my coat pocket and just as I went to unlock it I heard my new favorite husky voice.

"Where are you going?"

I spun around and saw Jacob sitting in an old red Volkswagen rabbit.

"Charming." I commented, eyeing the car and dropping the keys back into my pocket. I walked towards him slowly, maintaining eye contract. He was leaning over the passenger seat with his left hand still on the wheel, he opened the door with his right.

"You like it?" He chuckled, and eyed Seth as he hopped over the hood into the backseat behind Jacob.

I rolled my eyes and got in the car, his scent immediately overcoming my senses. It was everywhere. I could faint.

"It's cute, and seems like a very - you thing."

Jacob smiled and shifted into drive, heading down the narrow road away from my house. The drive was quiet, and quick. I felt like I couldn't speak being this close to him. Our arms inches away from one another; I had goose bumps thinking about just feeling his hands again. He pulled into their driveway and shut the car off. Seth hopped out and practically skipped towards the house, but I was momentarily stuck. I didn't want to move an inch apart.

"Thank you, Jacob." I murmured after finally pulling myself out of his car, walking around the front of his rabbit and dragging my finger tips across the hood. This would definitely get featured in a new fantasy dream.

"For what?" He questioned simply.

He was standing right there, his hands in his front pockets. Still wearing what he wore to school, but he lost the tie and had unbuttoned a few of the top buttons. I bit my lip and looked up at his eyes, we were two feet away. I just wanted to close the distance.

"For . . . the ride." For being here. For existing - is what I wanted to really say. My feelings were growing into a lustful infatuation, and I honestly couldn't fathom why. Are all crushes this intense?

He shuffled his feet and smirked down at me. "You're welcome, Renesmee."

I backed away slowly, not breaking eye contact before turning and bouncing up the stairs and through their open front door. I gasped when I walked in, it was so much more beautiful on the inside than I pictured in my mind. It was decorated simply; wooden furniture here and there. Nothing extravagant. Oak flooring, cream walls and a twisting staircase. I heard the door shut behind me, and turned to face Jacob. "Your house is beautiful, Jacob." I complimented, tucking a curl behind my ear and biting my lip.

He slid out of his shoes and pushed them into the closet by the front door, dropped his keys onto a rack and set his bag on the floor. "Thank you . . . It was mostly all Rachel. She picked out the furniture and gave me the ideas. Seth and I had a lot of time this summer waiting for the school year to start so . . . " He gestured around the foyer. "we did this."

Rachel. _Of course_ he has a girlfriend, I felt so fucking stupid. How could he not have a girlfriend? He was amazing. My stupid crush was just that; stupid.

I felt tears prick at my eyes, feeling completely rejected for no good reason. "Well, it turned out great." I managed to get out, running up the stairs before he could reply and listening for Seth's heartbeat through the walls. I basically ran into his room and slammed the door shut behind me, pushing my body against it and slumping my head back.

"Uh, hello." He said, confusion clouding his voice.

I looked at him; he was sprawled out on a bean bag in the corner with a controller in his hand. I took in his room; it was average sized. Same cream walls and oak floors. He had a simple metal frame and king sized bed, with white sheets and a black comforter. Posters and records hung from tacks on the wall his bed faced, most of the cover art I recognized. A lot of 90's rock and alternative. Same taste in music as me, so that's comforting.

"Can I play this?" I asked, picking up a Radiohead album from his shelf.

His eyebrows raised, "You like Radiohead?"

I snorted, taking out the vinyl and placing it on the player. "Who doesn't?"

He paused his game and sat up, "Okay – but also you played Nirvana so are you a basic-only-like-the-classics girl or do you actually like rock and alternative?"

I rolled my eyes and flung myself back on his bed and looked at the ceiling waiting for the first song to start.

"Pablo Honey is an amazing album, and I don't just like it because of the song Creep. I think You is completely underrated. It's the first fucking song. How is that overlooked? And, I'm also not just saying this because you played it in the car. I genuinely love music, and think so many good artists came from the 90's."

Seth's jaw dropped open, "You're awesome. Honestly. I've never met anyone who feels the same way about music as you. Back home, I swear no one has interests besides small town shit. Bonfires, the beach, dinners . . . It gets old."

I smiled and situated myself so my head was falling off the bed and my hair with spilling along the floor like a copper waterfall. I stared at him while upside down, gesturing for him to hand me another album of his rather large collection to articulate. "Sublime." I stated. "Should have ended before Sublime with Rome. They had a chance to make it timeless, and not stain the name."

Seth fell back on his bean bag and laughed. "This is so nice." He commented, after relaxing from his laughter.

I sat up and flopped onto my belly, placing my fists under my chin. "What is?"

He sighed, "Just talking. I can't do this with anyone else I know, because they already know everything about me. Being in the pack . . . its like everyone knows every detail of your mind. It gets overbearing, and then having to spend most of your time with them outside of being phased is just too much. But, again – there's nothing else to do but walk down the road to their house because there is nothing else to do." His voice trailed off as he pulled his loose black hair back into a bun at the nape of his neck.

"So, it's a cycle?" I concluded on my own.

He nodded, "It's just nice to be able to talk to someone who knows nothing about you and have completely different and stimulating conversations instead of the same ones you've been having for most of your life."

I laughed hard this time, realizing the depth of his truth. "For my entire life, I've been surrounded by vampires that don't eat, don't sleep, and don't breathe. I am literally the only alive thing in their existence. And all they talk about is . . . me. I am not that exciting."

He cracked a smile and kicked the bed, "That's not true. I mean, you're like half alive and half dead. A walking conundrum. I'd say that's pretty exciting." He teased.

I blushed, feeling myself begin to second guess my platonic feelings for him. Maybe Seth was who I should have a crush on? He was cute, funny – but I just couldn't see past it. My attraction to Jacob was like the sun blinding me past rationality.

"Can you not talk to Jacob?" I questioned, my curiosity hanging in the air.

He shrugged. "Of course, he has the same interests in music as I do. We have a lot of similar priorities, but we have still known each other for our whole lives practically. The reservation is small. It's nice to connect with new people."

I nodded, finding comfort in knowing at least one fact about Jacob.

"I agree. I'm glad you were weirdly stalking my mom; it gave me a friend." I said, half-joking.

He stared at me seriously, "It was more for Charlie, honestly, and my mom. Charlie has been so out of the loop; he doesn't even know where you guys live."

I paused, thinking about the few times I had spent time with my human grandfather. Only about three times, and each time I looked significantly older.

"I only saw him three times, before we moved away. I was under three months old at the time." I said quietly, feeling guilty for being the main reason my mom left home in the first place. Besides, you know, becoming a vampire.

"He never mentioned you. Which is the craziest part. Maybe in private to my mom . . . but when we realized who you were, and then what you were . . . we didn't really know what to do. We didn't know if it broke the treaty, if you were dangerous." Seth said weakly.

I pursed my lips and nodded my head side to side. "There's a few things I can do, but its all pretty harmless. I can jump high, run fast – some obvious traits you would probably expect. My skin is extremely resistant, so small things like paper cuts and scrapes don't harm me. But, I probably could get stabbed and wouldn't feel so hot." I laughed awkwardly. "I can thrive on blood or human food; we do both just to 'keep the balance'." I said, using finger quotations.

Seth's eyes were wide, and then both of ours flashed to the door. Jacob pushed it open and leaned against it. "You're just getting to the good part, aren't you?" He joked, pulling his arms across his chest. His skin was glistening, and his hair was slicked back. All he wore was a grey T-shirt, soaked. I could smell the perspiration and it was intoxicating. Even his sweat smells good to me, what kind of sick joke is that?

My breathing sped up, "I'm not venomous and I don't age, supposedly." I wouldn't tell them about my most important gift, that was something to be shared in time and it was much too intimate. I can't exactly hide my thoughts, especially if I touched Jacob.

"There she is." Jacob smirked. "Quite one-of-a-kind, huh, Nessie?"

My eyes widened, "Nessie?" I heard Seth snort behind me. He looked into my eyes, so deeply I felt sad knowing I would never be close to him while Rachel was around.

"Renesmee is a beautiful name, really, but I'm a nick-name kind of guy."

This time I was the one snorting, "I don't do nick names. No Ren, No May, No Nez, and _no_ Nessie." I sneered. "Re – nes – mee." I sounded out, matter-of-factly.

"You can't fight him on this." Seth mumbled behind me.

I pushed myself up off his bed and stood in front of Jacob, looking up at him towering over me. "Why Nessie?" I narrowed my eyes.

"Well . . . truthfully, after the Loch Ness Monster. Since, she's also one-of-a-kind." He smiled bashfully.

I decided to be bold, and squeeze by Jacob. Not because I wanted to leave, but because I wanted to feel him. I was childish, and so incredibly ridiculous in all of my actions that revolved around him.

I moved slowly, then angled myself to shimmy past him through the small opening he left in the door frame. His dewy skin rubbing against my hips where my sweater pulled up. I stifled my inhale, and kept my eyes locked with his until I was a safe distance away.

"I'm not actually one-of-a-kind, you know." I mustered with a crooked smirk. I leaned against the wall behind him, forcing him to turn his head to look at me. His eyebrows raised, and his mouth dropped open a bit. "There's one more, decades older than I am. Nahuel. A close friend and confidant over my short years. He's over 150 years old, but doesn't look a day past 21." I said.

"150 years? That's incredible." He mumbled, pushing himself off the door frame and facing me.

"I don't suppose werewolves live forever, too, do they?" I replied, confidence playing a delicate game with my emotions.

He chuckled, and his eyes darkened. I loved when they did that, it was just so – primal.

"If we continuously phase, with no breaks, we don't age." He stated, his face unmoving.

"The phasing, meaning shape-shifting." My eyebrows knitted together. "You want to show me that?"

He grinned so wide, it felt like the room shone. He was like my personal sun. He walked past me, and bounded down the stairs. I, too eagerly, followed him. He walked through the foyer and past the living room and conjoined kitchen. He got to the glass back doors leading to the porch and pushed them open. I followed, shutting them behind me.

"Are you in control while you're phased?" I questioned, letting him lead me into the dense back yard.

He chuckled and stopped, turning to face me. "I am_ always_ in control, Nessie."

My knees almost went weak. Why did he have this effect on me? It was unfair, a cruel cosmic coming of age joke.

I watched as he pulled the damp shirt over his head, and time slowed down with it. I couldn't control how my mouth parted open in awe. _Absolutely unfair._ I had only imagined how well defined he would be under his shirts, but this was well past my imagination. He was solid. His chest board, his stomach full of lines and deep indents where the muscle met tissue. My eyes slipped to his hips, where the line dipped down into his shorts. This was not a normal teacher-student interaction, and that only made my desire and fantasizing worse. My stomach clenched and instinctively, I forced my thighs together.

Jacob let out a shallow, loud breath. His eyes darkened and he stepped back. "You can watch, or you can turn around, Nessie." He said, his voice dipping lower with each word. I didn't care what he called me anymore, as long as he called to me.

I stood firmly, trying not to let my breathing be anymore labored. "I want to see." I replied, my voice barely above a whisper.

I felt a shift in the air, and tingles ran down my spine. Jacob had his eyes locked with mine. He took in a deep breath, still maintaining eye contact, and during his exhale . . . it began. His body contorted, and changed rapidly before me. The shift rolled throughout his body, with every contortion like a wave. His skull changed, his spine lengthened, truly _shifting_. Fur sprouted out and be bent forwards, landing in front of me on all fours.


	7. Animalistic and Foreign

**A/N:** This chapter was fun to write, and I enjoyed letting Renesmee's character develop a bit more maturity about her feelings for Jacob, realizing she needed to get to know him first! Hope some of their dialogue proves some hints to the future. *wink wink*

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Chapter Seven - Animalistic and Foreign

* * *

_I like it here beside you, dear  
__you're even more than you appear  
__and in the clouds my head is clear  
__every time you say hello  
__so here's my heart, and here's my mouth  
__and I can't help if things come out  
_'_cause there are words I want to shout  
__but maybe I'll stay low_

_-lights, quiet_

_oOoOo_

My heart was beating erratically, I kept my eyes locked on the familiar toffee eyes of this giant wolf. I had never felt closer to nature than I did right now. Witnessing such an animalistic and foreign ritual had my head spinning. I thought I was prepared, but truly nothing could have prepared me for this.

He was much bigger than I imagined, even bigger than the wild horses I've seen in the pictures Jasper had from his Nomad days. His russet fur laid shaggily against his body, and around his snout was a sandy color. He was truly beautiful, both in human form and wolf.

He slowly walked closer, keeping his head bowed. I let myself relax; Jacob was still in there. He bowed in front of me and slowly brought his wolf face closer to me. He looked up at me and let out a soft whine, before nuzzling my stomach and legs. I gasped, his fur was so soft and the heat radiated off of him like a space heater. I let my right hand weave into the fur on the top of his head, instinctively scratching him. He let out a grumble of satisfaction. My lips twitched into a crooked smile and I let my left hand reach under his chin. His head lifted to be level with mine.

"Jacob." I whispered, unable to hold back my smile. "This is incredible."

His tongue lolled out of his mouth and he exposed his big teeth in a wolfish grin. I threw my head back with laughter, I couldn't believe this was really happening.

I heard the back door close behind me but I didn't look away from Jacob's eyes.

"You'll probably want to turn around when he changes back." Seth said, teasing at the edge of his tone.

I turned and looked at him, raising one eyebrow. "Why?"

Jacob snorted and laid in front of me, putting a giant paw on top of my boot. I smiled down at him, it felt nice to be this close to him. I didn't feel guilty; I didn't feel overwhelmed. I felt . . . safe.

"Because he's going to be butt ass naked." Seth said with a howl, bending over with his laughter.

I furrowed my brows and let my eyes trail around us. There in a messy pile were strips of jean material that I had failed to noticed tattered in his shift.

I felt my face burn red hot, and plopped on the ground next to Jacob. He immediately let his head drop into my lap and grinned up at me again, his toffee eyes sparkling.

"Well, I mean . . . I guess that makes sense."

"What, did you picture a giant wolf wearing pants?" Seth said, laughing even harder.

"No! I didn't even think that far, jeeze!"

Seth's laughter slowed and he jumped off the porch, not using the perfectly in tact stairs.

"My turn! You have to get us pants now." He said with a snicker. He ran towards us and started to jump, and before I knew it he was landing on all fours a few feet past us. Seth was a significantly smaller, sandy wolf. It was weird to notice how their wolf faces still looked like their human faces to me, or maybe that's just what I saw because I knew them.

Seth trotted over and rolled over on his back, his tongue flopped out of his mouth.

"Seriously? Did you just do this so I would pet you too?" I joked, extending a free hand to rub his furry chest. "No _wonder _they say you're overgrown dogs."

Seth let out a playful growl, and leapt onto his feet. Crouching down and flashing me his wolf smile.

I raised an eyebrow, maybe I could showcase some of my half-vampire strength and speed. I closed my eyes and listened deeply, trying to pinpoint a site we could race too. I heard a waterfall, about two miles south.

"First one to the waterfall wins." I shouted, pushing Jacob's giant head off my lap and scurrying up to my feet, taking off before they could even process what I said. I hadn't run wild like this in a long time, not since my last hunt and I forgot how much I loved it. I ran, and jumped from boulders and fallen tree logs. Floating through the air I saw Seth's wolf form dart from under me. I narrowed my eyes and grabbed a hold of a branch, and swung. I propelled myself right in front of him, my copper curls bouncing behind me.

"Catch me if you can!" I yelled in a sing-song voice. Seth growled and I could hear him dig harder into the earth, trying to pass me.

Suddenly, Seth and Jacob had me on either flank. Their eyes darted to me and then soon they were ahead. I huffed in frustration and pushed myself further, catching up to them easily.

I decided to weave left and took an alternate route. I bounded between trees and rocks, feeling like my feet were floating at the speed I was going now. I could hear the water running, and smiled in anticipation. I leapt from a bolder, up into the trees. Jumping from branch to branch, looking down on the forest floor for any sight of the two wolves. A flash of russet and sandy fur in my peripherals appeared, and I knew they were on my heels. I laughed loudly, the sound coming out much more melodic than I anticipated.

I let myself swing from a branch and onto the ground, landing with a soft thud in front of the flowing river that led to the waterfall a few feet away. Seth and Jacob fumbled to a stop in front of me milliseconds later.

Seth huffed and growled, obviously trying to speak to me in wolf. I laughed again, "Seth, I can't speak wolf but I'm assuming you're congratulating me on my win?" I smirked and he huffed, rolling his eyes.

Jacob was looking at me intensely; his eyes were hazy but still that beautiful toffee color I adored so much. He walked closer to me, and nuzzled his snout against my cheek. His nose was hot and wet, tickling my skin. I blushed and let my hair cover my face, shielding him from seeing my embarrassment.

Seth began walking away, in a sulky saunter. I smirked and let my eyes flutter to Jacob again before taking a step forward. I felt Jacob lightly grab my sweater with his teeth, whining. I stopped and turned towards him.

"What?" I questioned.

He nodded his head back, and laid on the ground. Did he want me to . . . ride him?

I blushed harder this time, "It's okay, I'm not that tired." I said, just now realizing how labored my breathing was.

He huffed and his ears laid against his head. I sighed and decided just to climb on, he obviously wasn't going to let it go. I heaved myself up, resting my legs around him right below his shoulders. I found myself sighing in content, satisfied with our close proximity. It just felt . . . right being like this. I had always felt a piece was missing from my life, but never understood. Now, I might know what it was – or who.

They began to trot, and soon we were speeding through the forest back towards their yard. It was a different kind of exhilarating I was experiencing. I felt like I was flying, without facing the physical exhaustion of running myself.

They slowed the closer we got, breaking through the trees and brush into their yard. Jacob trotted over to the porch and laid down, looking at me to signal I could get off now. I paused, enjoying how close we were but knew I couldn't stay like this without seeming weird.

I jumped off and onto their first step, bounding up the stairs and back into the house. I shut the door behind me and felt like an intruder being in here without either of them. I found myself looking around more now that they weren't around though, taking in the family pictures hung up and set around almost everywhere. Tons of tanned, dark haired men featured in the pictures – almost _always_ shirtless.

I found one I particularly liked, it was a younger elementary aged Jacob and two pretty girls, in their early teens. On either side of the three of them, were what I assumed his parents. His mother was beautiful, her smile matched Jacobs and she had his eyes. Kind, warm and toffee brown. His father was handsome, striking huge similarities between the two men. Jacobs father had long black hair with a few grey streaks. One more thing I knew about Jacob; he had a family besides the pack. I touched the picture lightly, and moved on. I scurried up the stairs and back into Seth's room, going over to his dresser and picking out a pair of grey sweatpants. I threw them over my shoulder and glided back into the hallway. I looked around, a few set of doors – but which one was Jacobs room?

I followed my sense of smell, and walked up to the last door. I took a deep breath before pushing it open. I looked around his bedroom quickly, memorizing it and letting his scent envelop me. He had a large king bed, a wooden bedframe and cream sheets with a deep brown comforter laying neatly on top. His room was practically empty. A mirror hung over the bed, and a small picture of him and his mother was nestled into the corner of it. A small, woven dream catcher hung from one of the bed posts, with turquoise beads and a few feathers.

I walked over to his bed, brushing my hand over the plush comforter. This time though, my thoughts stayed pure. Something about the interaction with wolf Jacob changed me. I felt more compelled to get to know him, and not just make out with him. My infatuation had turned somewhat more platonic, only now I really just needed to know him. I wanted him before, but now I knew I needed him. I had to remain level headed and cool my jets, or else I would truly never get my chance. I also knew I needed to respect his relationship, and would keep all of my future questions revolving around anything but her.

I let myself fall away from his bed and walked towards his dresser, I opened each drawer looking for his pants. I found a pair of black joggers and grabbed them quickly. I let myself bounce down the stairs, and practically skipped through their house and out the door. I tossed each wolf their respected choice of pants and turned around. I felt the air grow flat, but then it began to move again.

"Took you long enough." Seth whined, coming up behind me on the stairs and passing me. "Still can't believe you beat me. I'm fast as fuck." He grumbled, opening the door and shutting it behind him. I snorted and turned to face Jacob. He was grinning, his hands shoved into his front pockets and leaning back and forth from the ball of his foot to his heel. I let my eyes start to trail down to his naked chest, but stopped myself. Friends, first. You have to know him, to get him. Remember, Renesmee?

"So . . . " I started, settling myself on the stairs. I brought my knees to my chest and wrapped my arms around them.

He grinned wider, and walked towards me. "So, what?"

"So, you got beat by a girl who's half human." I joked, and watched as he sat down next to me.

He nodded, and stared off past the trees. "I could say I let you win, but no one likes a liar."

I smiled, and noticed his bare skin again. The wind blew fiercely, whipping my curls away from my head. "Will you get cold? Its getting pretty chilly out here." I asked, rubbing my arms while following his gaze. We were both looking off towards the treetops. The sun was beginning to set, casting a red and orange glow around the yard.

He smirked down at me, "No, I run hot. You know this though. We can go inside, because I think you're the one who's getting cold."

I rolled my eyes and let him help me stand up. His hands touching mine elicited no inappropriate thoughts, only appreciation for his kindness.

He led me to the living room, and I plopped down on the big, comfy sectional. He started a fire in the fireplace and stood up.

"I'm gonna put some more clothes on." He said sheepishly, his cheeks looking red next to the fire. Was that a blush or just the reflection of the flames?

I nodded with a laugh. I slid both legs under my butt and sat at an angle, leaning against the back cushion with my left arm. The warmth of the fire soon enveloped the room, crackling and hissing with each passing moment. Jacob returned and waltzed into the kitchen, I turned my head towards him and raised an eyebrow.

"Want something? Coffee, hot chocolate – water?" He asked, not looking at me while rattling off a list of beverages.

"I'd take some coffee." I replied, finding a loose strand on a decorative pillow and twirling it around my finger.

He didn't reply, and I listened as he fumbled around the kitchen. A few minutes later I smelled the tangy coffee beans, and heard the familiar pour from a coffee pot.

"Do you take anything?" He questioned politely.

I pursed my lips, "Just a splash of milk is fine."

A few moments later he returned with two cups of coffee in his hands, passing one over to me as he sat nearby on the couch. He was wearing a black long sleeved shirt now, which was probably a good idea to keep my eyes from lingering over his skin for too long.

It was silent for a few seconds, neither of us dared to look away from the fire. It was comfortable, but I knew one of us wanted to break the silence.

"So, you're two-of-a-kind then?" He blurted out. I glanced over at him while taking a sip of my coffee, smiling while taking a bigger drink. It was just the way I liked it.

I held the mug with both hands and shifted until I was facing him. "Well . . . more like five-of-a-kind, and there might be more but we don't know. Nahuel is the only one I have met, and truly know. He has been a really good friend to me. I haven't heard from him in a while, though."

He nodded, but seemed surprised. "How did you find out about him?"

I grimaced, remembering the reason why. "Vampires have this group of . . . leaders, I guess. They are sort of in charge of our side of the supernatural world, or so they claim." I started with an eye roll. "Scary guys, regardless. Well, right after I was born – my mother received a gift. It was from their leader. It was a gold and diamond necklace – a wedding present he claimed. My father knew Aro was sending a warning. A warning that my mom better be a vampire by then or else my family had still broken the very important rule – do not expose yourselves to humans."

Jacob sat up, leaning towards me. "I remember these dudes. They showed up after an army of newborns came for Bella."

I furrowed my brows. "I've been told the stories – but they never mentioned you being there. And, it was just four of their guard."

Jacob scoffed. "We played a big part in helping them win – but we left before meeting them. One of those god-damned newborn leeches shattered my ribs, and I remember Doctor Vampire said we had to go before they came, or else it would be bad."

I nodded my head side to side, "Well – another rule is to not mingle with werewolves – but, here we are." I said with a laugh, gesturing between us.

He smiled, drinking from his mug and settling back into the cushions. He laid an arm on the back of the couch and looked at me intriguingly. "Anyway – my mom wanted to go to the Volturi by herself, to prove she was a vampire and mostly to avoid them coming to visit us . . . and see I existed. But, my Aunt Alice had a spotty vision of the Volturi coming to visit regardless of her going there first. So, we knew that if we went together – the chance of a fight would be slim. She couldn't see the complete future with my visit in it, so we didn't have the best advantage. At the time, I was basically a black spot in her visions. Over the years, its improved. Grandpa Carlisle thinks it's because she never interacted with a hybrid before, and that her psyche didn't know how to predict me. But, now I'm in her everyday life – she can see me, for the most part. Until you two showed up." I shrugged.

Jacob was practically on the edge of his seat. "Okay – but what happened when you went there?" Completely ignoring the part about him being in my life now. Sigh, all I could do was try.

I scratched my head, and sighed. "We were going to go, just the three of us – but we figured the Volturi would say I was unpredictable, since we even didn't know what I was capable of. So, we searched hard for another hybrid. Alice found Nahuel, and Nahuel came with his Aunt Huilen from South America. Nahuel told us about his three half-sisters, and their father; Joham – who used human's to create a family of hybrids. Nahuel doesn't speak to his father, only his sisters on occasion through visits but he was able to use them as knowledge. He learned about what would happen to him as time went on. He relayed to us that the likeliness is that all female hybrids are non-venomous, like I was as well as his sisters. Which was a good thing for the Volturi to hear. So, I couldn't create vampires. I physically age and change until I'm seven years old, and on my seventh birthday I should reach full maturity – including my – uh – hormonal maturity."

He looked at me questioningly, "Meaning, I probably can procreate. This hasn't been tested yet – um according to Nahuel." I finished.

Jacob choked on air, "Oh – so um, you can have a kid. That's good news."

I laughed, looking at him with my eyebrows raised. "I mean, maybe. But, that makes me question a lot." I blurted out.

"Like what?" He asked, seeming nervous.

I bit my lip and looked down at my mug. "This sounds so weird, but most of my questions revolve around species. If it matters if it's a certain type, or not."

"Species as in vampire or werewolf?" Jacob asked, his face definitely was bright red.

Just as I took a sip I choked on his words, "Uh – um, well werewolves were't exactly on my radar until Friday." I joked. "I meant, um, human – hybrid or vampire. But, I guess werewolf could be considered too."

Jesus, this was getting awkward. Procreation talks with my teacher, just normal run of the mill conversations.

Must. Change. Subject.

"Anyways, Nahuel and Huilen came with us." I blurted out. "My entire family, Nahuel and Huilen showed up in Volterra, sometime in March. I was about 6 months old, but physically looked to be about five years old. The Volturi were frightened at first, but Aro slowly read each and every one of our minds. He saw my creation, my birth, and my growth. Then, he wanted to see Nahuel's. Nahuel explained his family, and his current age. Aro was pleased – ecstatic almost. Totally creepy. He let us leave in peace, but promised a visit. He never said when, but – my birthday is this weekend. And, it would be an awfully great way to crash a party, huh?"

"That's a lot to go through for such a young age. Are you scared at all, that they'll come back?" Jacob questioned, concern glazing over his features.

"I mean; I guess its inevitable. I'm just thankful we walked away to begin with." I shrugged. "I don't like to think about it."

Jacob nodded, "So – can I ask what you think?" Gesturing to his house.

I smiled, realizing he was changing the subject to not upset me. "It's truly beautiful, Jacob."

"It took me and Seth all summer, worth every minute though." he recalled to me softly, looking over at me. "It's my mom's dream house. Before my mom passed away, Billy and her were going to build it. But, it never happened after the accident." His voice grew sad and quiet, I yearned to hold him in that moment.

I set my mug on the coffee table. "Can I ask what happened?" I wondered aloud, hoping my curiosity wouldn't upset him.

He nodded and settled back into the cushions. "A drunk driver hit my parent's car, it took my mothers life and took away my fathers ability to walk. I was nine, and my sisters were fifteen."

"Oh, Jacob." I gasped. My hand touched his arm gently, heat waves flushed my skin. Our eyes met again, and time seemed to pause. He put his hand on top of mine. The hand that was touching his, burned so pleasantly. It sent tingles throughout my body.

"It was a long time ago, I'm alright."

I smiled sadly, "I'm so sorry a selfish person took away your mother from you, no one deserves that."

He looked down at his feet and smiled, "You're incredible." He chuckled.

My breath hitched and my head began to spin. I told myself I wouldn't let my feelings get away from me, why did he have this effect on me? "I'm ordinary." I argued with a laugh.

He looked at me again. His eyes made my body burn with passion, and my mind spin with complicated thoughts. I felt safe yet so vulnerable in his presence. He shook his head like he was trying to get rid of something on his face, and took his hand off of mine. He stood up in one swift motion, bringing me up with him. "I'll show you more of the upstairs, there's a room I think you'd like." He pulled me along with him, up the twisting stairs and taking me past a few rooms until we reached the end of the hall, opposite of his bedroom. He looked at me with a grin before pushing the door open quickly and revealing a beautiful room. It was an art studio of sorts. Huge glass sliding doors revealed a balcony with the most beautiful view of the forest. I walked towards the doors and opened them slowly, the cold fall wind whipping my hair across my face. I leaned against the soft wood, my hands gripping the edge.

"It's breathtaking up here." I exasperated.

"I'd agree, on par with a few other views I've seen recently."

I turned to face him, watching him come out onto the porch with me. "Like what?"

His face definitely turned red, "Uh – just a few. The mountains, to name one." He mumbled, and I raised an eyebrow. That was not convincing.

I sighed and turned back around, facing the forest. I loved running through the trees with him earlier, and dangling from the limps as we raced. It was something I hoped we could do more often.

"What are you thinking?" he questioned, leaning against the balcony alongside me.

"How I liked running with you, and that I want to climb that tree." I replied with a light laugh, pointing to the tallest tree I saw. It was a half-truth. I looked up at him, his eyes focused on the tree I pointed too. I watched as a smile formed on his face and he looked down at me.

"It's a tall tree, could you handle it?"

I chuckled and shook my head, "You saw me swinging around earlier, you know I could."

"Want to know a secret?" He asked, and I nodded my head vigorously, ecstatic that he would tell me anything about himself.

"When I was eight, I tried to climb a tree like that - and fell. I broke my arm, but I told a girl I liked that I broke my arm from fighting off a burglar." He laughed to himself and rested his forearms on the balcony, clasping his hands together. I found myself longing to feel his hand holding mine. _Stop it, Renesmee! Friends, friends, friends!_

"That is absolutely adorable!" I proclaimed while laughing, "I never had a crush on someone before." Okay, a lie. But, I couldn't tell him the truth now could I?

He gasped, "You're lying."

I shook my head with a sad laugh, "Sadly, no. Four years at that school and not one guy has intrigued me." Until now.

_Stop. It._

"That's impossible."

I bit my lip, and looked at him with red cheeks. "Well, I mean recently there's been someone – but I don't know. I think we'll always just be friends." I said, sadness in my voice. I couldn't believe I was telling him this.

He got a bit tense, "Who?" he asked. My eyes flashed to his hands that were relaxed a few moments ago, but now were tightly fisted.

I laughed and left him outside as I walked back into the house. "I can't tell, it's a secret."

He followed me quickly, begging me to tell him now. "C'mon, Nessie. I told you a secret!"

I shook my head and quickly climbed down the stairs, giggling the whole way down. "You'll find out eventually."


	8. Trusting the Connection

**A/N:** Shorter chapter, I just wanted to get this out! Shout out to **Charkitte02420**, **Danielle Duffelen**, **DxGRAYxMAN**, **EvieFortune**, **Readaholic187** and **kingwolf2350** for adding Outcast to your favorites! Another shout out to Readaholic187 and DxGRAYxMAN for reviewing as well, and for your reviews! Do you like long chapters, or short? Let me know in the reviews! Enjoy.

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Chapter Eight – Trusting the Connection

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_I wonder if you know  
I'm tryin' so hard not to get caught up now  
but you're just so cool  
run your hands through your hair  
absent mindedly makin' me want you_

_-taylor swift, fearless_

_oOoOo_

I gracefully returned to my spot on the couch, and picked up my mug of coffee like nothing had happened.

"What does 'eventually' mean?" Jacob's voice asked from behind me, he flung himself over the back of the couch and landed with an 'oomph'. I shot him a playful glare as I steadied the mug in my hands.

"Eventually means, not now." I teased. I wanted to bring up how it was probably wrong of me to even mention crushes to my teacher, but Jacob was so much more than just that. "I will tell you this, completely unrelated – by the way." I started, with a teasing demeanor. "That you're not what I expected. Meeting you – has . . . "

"Changed you?" Jacob suggested, his tone was quiet and unsure.

I blushed and let my hair fall past my face, keeping my burgundy cheeks hidden. I stared at the coffee in my mug. "Yes, actually. I feel different. Before, I felt like . . . an outcast, you know? Like there were vampires – and then there was me. And then I met you, and Seth." I added his name, quickly. "Knowing that there are so many unknown secrets in this world . . . and you and I share one of them, its cool. It's like we are kind of connected now."

Jacob exhaled. I watched him carefully as he pushed his hand through his neat hair and disheveled it. "We are connected, in a way." Our eyes met for a brief, tender moment.

I looked back down, then back to his face again. I so badly wanted to understand him. "You should tell me more – about your life. Since you know . . . you know so much about mine now." I said with a teasing grin, even though I was actually hoping he would tell me.

He chucked, "Well – I'm twenty-three. I was born in La Push, Washington – I have two sisters. Rachel and Rebecca, they're twins."

I started internally manically laughing - Rachel is Jacob's sister, not his girlfriend. _Wow_.

"Rachel is your sister?" I blurted out, needing a second confirmation.

He looked at me weird, "Yes . . . why?"

I snorted, "I thought Rachel was your girlfriend, when you were talking about her helping earlier."

Jacob's booming laughter filled the room, "Oh, god no. I've uh – actually never had a girlfriend."

I blinked at him in disbelief. He's serious?

"Yes, make fun of the guy in his early twenties who's never had a girlfriend. I've just been – um- waiting for the right woman. Call me old fashioned." My heart swelled at the news. The possibility of Jacob and I begun flooding my mind again. _Nope. Stop that, right now._

"That's not old fashioned, its romantic." I whispered, my eyes boring into his.

"Yeah – I guess, if you think so." He suggested sheepishly, disheveling his hair again with his hand. "I just – well, I used to think I was in love with your mom."

I choked on the sip I was taking, "You were _what_?" I tried to shield my hurt, but it was hard.

"No, Nessie – I was young. I was 16. I didn't really know any better. She was the first girl I had really known, and when your dad left she – she needed me. So, I was there." He expressed hastily.

I set down my mug and turned sharply "My dad did _what_?" Okay, this was all news to me. How much else was I ignorant to? How many lies had my family told me?

Jacob blinked a few times, "Wait – you didn't know that? I'm so sorry, Nessie. I didn't mean to. I wouldn't have said that if I knew . . ."

"Jacob, its not your fault. My family clearly likes to lie to me." I hissed, crossing my arms and flopping back into the couch cushions.

"No, I'm sure they thought they had what was best for you in mind. Anyone would." He pleaded, scooting towards me. "Your dad came back though, and I knew deep down they were right for each other. I was just a stubborn, naïve kid."

He was clearly trying to make me feel better. Was he always this selfless – or just for me? I really hoped it was for me.

I rolled my eyes and turned away, but turned right back. "Jacob, I can trust you – right?" My chocolate brown eyes pooled into his, searching for the truth.

Jacob blinked, and reached out tentatively. "Renesmee – you can always trust me." His large hand rested on my knee, but not an inch higher. I let my eyes fall to his hand, wishing it would inch up . . .

Just as if my thoughts began to detour, he took his hand away. I set my mug down and grabbed his retreating hand quickly. I searched his eyes for something – anything inclining how he felt. "We can be friends, right Jacob? It's not . . . weird?"

He gulped audibly, his eyes looking back and forth between my hands holding onto his and to my eyes. "Yes, Renesmee. We can be friends. I don't think its weird, we're connected – remember?" He murmured, his voice sounded as if it was tremoring. Was he nervous? I knew I was nervous with him, but the good kind. The kind where your stomach clenches and you smile at everything. I just wanted to know him. I wanted to show him we could be close, we could be allies and trust each other. I wanted whatever I could get.

He gasped out loud and his eyes intensely locked in on mine. "How did you do that?"

My eyes widened in horror – shock, embarrassment flooded over my entire body. I accidentally let him in. My thoughts slipped. How much did he hear?

"Jacob! I can explain." I cried, snatching my hands back with tears welling up in my eyes. "Please – please don't think I'm a freak. I promise. I can control it. It wont happen again."

Jacobs expression softened, "Nessie – Nessie, calm down. I could never think you're anything besides . . . amazing, truly. I'm . . . amazed." He stated, the corners of his lips turning up in a smile. "How did you do that?"

I blinked the tears away and held my breath. Jacob thought I was amazing? My mind was once again racing with anxiety. "Nessie?" He said, trying to pull me back down to Earth.

I shook my head, "I don't know what to say, Jacob." I mumbled. What could I say? All the thoughts in my head were slamming into each other, trying to get a hold of the situation and figure out how to tread out of this deep water.

He did something I never would have expected. He took a hold of my hand, and pressed it to his cheek. "Show me more, can you show me your life? Memories?" I was startled with the close proximity between us, but it felt so right.

I laughed lightly and awkwardly, "My life?"

He nodded vigorously, "Everything."

I bit my lip and nodded, feeling so vulnerable and unsure if I would be able to hold back anything once I opened myself up to him this way. I felt the warmth of his cheek, and let go. I started by showing him my first moments out of the womb, staring into my father's dark and hungry golden eyes, listening to him announce my name. _It's_ _Renesmee. _His voice rang in my mind, clear as it was 7 years ago. My thoughts drifted to my mother; weak and on the verge of death from giving birth to me. Hearing her tell me I'm beautiful. Laying on her chest for the first time, feeling her human warmth and memorizing her weak heart beat. Biting her breast, trying to find food. Then, I showed how beautiful and strong she became after she was changed. I recalled her blood red eyes changing from amber, to gold, and how loved and protected I felt with her. I showed him the first time I hunted, and the first time I beat Emmett at a video game. I revealed how I leaned to play the piano, how Rosalie taught me to sing and Jasper taught me to take in others emotions and be sympathetic to how they felt, and always be understanding. I recollected when Esme taught me to cook, and how Alice taught me to sew. I showed him how Emmett taught me to drive a car, and how to also crash a car in the same day. I showed him how my mom taught me to love, and accept others and how Carlisle emphasized the importance and value of human life, and how valuable every breath I take is.

I put pictures and memories in his mind of my appearance growing up, how I once was a short little girl with bronzed curly locks down to my knees with chubby rosy cheeks and pink bud lips.

I decided to go further, and show him my moments with the Volturi. My fear, my curiosity with their way of life – but mostly, my desire to live. I projected my thoughts on how the chance that my life could be taken away, only made me want to live more more. I let him see my perspective of running through the trees, climbing the tallest ones and jumping along a mountain. I gave him the sights of Paris, what an ocean looked like under a volcano and how much I loved learning; outside of a human classroom. My thoughts drifted to meeting Seth, my intrigue in the one person who ever tried to talk to me at that school. Our easy going conversations, my appreciation for our fast friendship. I held back my thoughts of Jacob, trying hard only to show him the platonic side of my feelings. His kindness, his strength – how honored I felt to have witnessed his sacred wolf ritual.

He removed my hand from his cheek and opened his now onyx eyes, they were shinning with emotions I couldn't read. "You don't understand how incredible it was to see all of that through your eyes."

I bit my lip again, and continued to stare into his eyes. I didn't dare look away, wanting to have this memory forever.

"Jacob –" I started.

"Uh, hey guys." Seth's voice cut in, and we both hastily sat back in our respected seats.

Jacob coughed and stood up, rubbing his hands on his pants and grabbing our mugs and walking quickly past me into the kitchen.

I let out a shaky sigh, almost in relief. If Seth hadn't walked in I probably would have said something I regretted.

"Hey – Seth. Um, I probably should go home." I stood up and looked around for my coat.

"I can take you." He said wearily. I watched as he eyed Jacob's back that was facing us. His hands were gripping the counter, and his head was dipped down, black hair curtaining his face.

"Please." I replied, awkwardly laughing.

I walked quickly past Seth and into the foyer, grabbing my coat and slipping on my boots.

"I'm going to go start the car . . ." Seth said, eyeing me weirdly then heading out the front door. He shut it before I could follow behind him.

"Nessie." Jacob's voice brought me down.

I spun around way too quickly, "I'll see you tomorrow . . ."

He stepped forward and grabbed my hand. He smiled down at me, "I know this is abnormal, but if you need anyone to talk to, or even just hang out - I'm here. I really enjoy it. In any other non supernatural scenario this probably would be . . . odd. But, I don't know. I just wanted to make sure you knew." His voice was low and so quiet I barely could make out what he was saying.

I gave him a crooked grin, "So – supernatural friends?" I joked, eliciting a smile from him.

"Sure, sure." He dropped my hand and backed away, shoving his hands into the front of his sweatpants pockets.

I opened the door and stepped half way out. "See you tomorrow, Jacob. Goodnight." I murmured to him, shutting the door behind me. I sprung down the steps and all but skipped to the car. I slid into the front seat and sighed once I was settled.

"So . . ." Seth begun. "What exactly did I walk in on?"

My face turned red hot, "Seth – we were talking, about my life." I mumbled, completely embarrassed he witnessed our somewhat intimate moment.

"I mean . . . you can talk to me, Renesmee." He suggested, lifting an eyebrow.

I scoffed, "Yeah – I don't know. What am I supposed to tell you?"

He rolled his eyes, "Alright, but I'm just letting you know that the tension between you two can be felt from a fuckin' _mile_ away."

"Seth!" I yelled, smacking his bicep.

He chuckled, "So, I'm right. You two have some chemistry."

"He's my _teacher_." I emphasized.

"Yeah, for like – 12 weeks. He's only subbing – he didn't tell you that?"

I spun in my seat and looked at him. "Wait what?"

"Yeah, he's actually just supposed be the hockey coach." He established, "_But,_ the Spanish teacher he's filling in for had some sort of medical emergency, and left until after Thanksgiving break. He's only filling in because he has a minor in Spanish. He's so seriously underqualified." He said, laughing. "He _had_ to have mentioned it in class."

I blinked rapidly, now realizing he probably did while I was at the nurses the day we met. Suddenly, my fear around approaching Jacob with my feelings seemed a lot less scary. I just had to wait it out. I could do that.

I laughed loudly, then it turned into a fit. Seth looked at me cautiously. "Dude, seriously – are you okay?"

I wiped the laughter tears from my eyes, "Seth, you can not tell Jacob any of this. Okay?"

He nodded, "Yeah, okay. So, tell me the truth then."

I sighed, "I don't understand why, or how. But, I feel this – pull. Like - I need to be with him or around him all the time. When I'm not, I can't think about anything else. It's seriously maddening. I feel like a school girl with an insane crush. I don't know how to control it."

His lips turned up in a smile, and he shook his head. "I don't think its an insane crush; I think it makes sense. You two really seem to connect." Seth pushed, like he knew something I didn't. "In normal human circumstances, this would be totally illegal and insane – but you're this immortal half-human and he turns into a giant wolf made to protect a tribe in Washington. Who's to say its not right?"

I scoffed, was Seth seriously trying to convince me of my feelings? "Why are you pushing for this?"

Seth's eyes widened, like he had been caught. "Uh, I mean. Jake's my best friend. We're family. When we are phased I can see how he feels . . . about you – so you're not crazy. I just want him to be happy, he deserves it."

Jacob has feelings about me, or for me? I was too nervous to ask that, so I decided something less intrusive would do. "You think he'd be happy with me?"

Seth furrowed his brows, but then relaxed his face. "Honestly? Yeah. I do." He pulled up to my house and stopped the car. "I know you two don't know each other, and I don't know you either – but as you know there are things in this world we don't understand. We don't question them; we just keep moving forward. So – don't question this, I guess."

"Thanks, Seth. I – um, wasn't expecting this conversation." I admitted ardently.

He smiled brilliantly, his boyish features lighting up. "Hey, I'm the bestest, brightest, coolest guy you know. You should always expect enlightening conversations from me." He teased.

I rolled my eyes and unbuckled my belt, hoping out in one swift movement. "See you tomorrow, Seth."

I watched as he drove away, the dark encompassing the woods around me. I looked up at the sky, seeing the moons light peak through the treetops. Was Seth right? Would telling Jacob I was attracted to him change anything, or would it ruin my plan?

I pursed my lips, still staring upwards. Now wasn't the time, I'm still dedicated to getting to know Jacob. I wanted to to go slow, make sure with every possibility I could get this to work. And, when I was absolutely sure – I would tell him.


	9. Rejection

**A/N:** We are so close to 1,000 views! Holy shit! Sorry for the five day hiatus - I worked all weekend and needed a break. Thanks to **SnapeSnapeSecRusSnape** for the last review! And to the new favorites/follows - **DivergentDivergentt**, **hbyrd28**, and **Funny Bunni987**.

Here's a dramatic jump in their relationship, let me know what you think is going to happen next!

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Chapter Nine - Rejection

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_don't tell me 'cause it hurts_  
_don't speak, I know what you're thinkin'_  
_I don't need your reasons_  
_don't tell me 'cause it hurts_

_-no doubt, don't speak_

_oOoOo_

The days leading up to my birthday passed by quickly; time moving faster than it ever had before. I attributed it to the new addition of Jacob and Seth in my life. I spent my days at school, then as soon as I could I was sneaking away to hang out with them. Seth had begun to make himself scarce every time I came over the week of my birthday, and I knew it had something to do with my semi-confession of my feelings for Jacob.

Our friendship spread like a wild fire between us. It was as if our energy vibrated off of one another, moving in harmony. I was constantly stealing glances at him just hoping he was doing the same. I never did catch him looking, so it made me wonder if Seth was actually telling the truth – or just what I wanted to hear. I would get bouts of anxiety, second-guessing all of our interactions. I would ask myself; does he enjoy my company, or is he he just being friendly? But, then he would do something like step in front of me if the wind was blowing harshly, or give me old sweatshirts when I seemed cold. He always ran me home, and nuzzled his wolf-face against mine. The intimacy was there, but only when he was wolf Jacob. Human Jacob was entirely different, and so much more difficult to read.

"Hey, Ness. What are you thinking about?" Jacob's voice brought me out of my deep thoughts. I dropped the book onto my chest and sat up.

"I was reading." I lied, but I couldn't exactly tell him I was thinking about him . . . could I?

He snorted, and raised an eyebrow. He set the papers he was holding down and looked at me intently. "You're really a terrible liar."

I furrowed my brows and narrowed my eyes, "How would you know I wasn't reading? Were you watching me or something?" I teased, but Jacob's cheeks went a little pink.

"I mean – yes and no." He mumbled, picking his papers back up and shielding his face with them.

I scoffed, and crawled towards him. I snatched the papers away; our hands brushed and we both snapped our eyes to each other.

He swallowed thickly, and cleared his throat. "Your heart rate . . . changed. It got faster, so I was just making sure you were . . . okay."

I inhaled, and pursed my lips. He was being protective, a trait of his that I was really growing to love. "I'm right here, Jake." I coaxed. "I'm fine. I just was thinking about . . . well – you. Wolf you, I mean."

I sat back, with my knees tucked under me. I looked down at my hands and fiddled with the rug.

"You were thinking about me?" He asked, curiously. I glanced up, a smile tugged at the corners of his lips.

"Didn't I just say that?" I sassily mumbled with a huff.

He grinned and crossed his ankle over his knee. His arms went behind his head and he sighed. "I know, I just wanted to hear it again." He winked and dropped his arms, picking his papers and a pen back up.

I swear I died every time that man winked at me. Was he flirting, or was he teasing me platonically?

I laid myself back down on the floor, and clutched the book against my chest. I turned my head and looked into the crackling fire. I wanted to badly to just be close to Jacob. I wanted more than friendship.

I felt so wound up; every thought or dream I had cranked my frustration higher. My stomach was constantly in knots around him, and I was over-analyzing every interaction we had. I was dying to unravel the knots, and if I were some normal teenager girl I'm sure my deviance could have been tamed by now – but living in a house full of vampires, with a mind reading father . . . doesn't exactly make a girl comfortable enough to do anything about it.

But, that begs the question of how do I even let Jacob know how I feel. Would he really feel the same? My birthday was tomorrow, and Seth said – no _begged_ – me to tell him. Could I actually, though? I had been struggling withholding it, my overly eager, gifted hands wanting to share every thought with him whenever we touched. He would always get flashes of my emotions before I realized the gate was open, and I would snatch my hands away. His expression was the same; unreadable. I wanted to believe he enjoyed seeing my feelings – there were always the same. Adoration. Every time I accidently opened my mind when we touched, I was enveloped in warmth. My body and mind radiated happiness and affection.

The sound of papers being shuffled together brought me out of my thoughts, and I peered over to see Jacob staring at me. He kneeled himself onto the floor next to me, and rolled over until he was on his back, laying right beside me. My breath hitched in my throat feeling the heat of his arm against mine. My skin flushed with goose bumps, his heat caused my stomach to knot and my thighs to tingle. He turned his head towards mine, I could smell his sweet breath. Like honey and pine. "Are you excited for your birthday?" He asked huskily, his usual toffee eyes were now onyx.

I wanted to whimper, but I held it back. He was so close – I could taste his breath on my tongue and feel it flush against my face.

My face reddened when I felt the usual heat between my thighs – something that began happening this week. I looked away from him and clenched my legs close together.

Was he doing this on purpose?

"I'm excited." I choked out. I still couldn't look at him.

I felt his hot palm against my cheek, and he gently pulled my face to turn towards him. My blush deepened.

"Nessie . . ." He began, but trailed off. He dropped his hand from my face and put it behind his head.

I decided I was tired of the fleeting touches. I wanted to just snuggle right up against him, feel his strong body and relish in his amazing warmth. I inched closer to him, and laid my head against his chest. Friends could lay like this, right?

He tensed when my stomach pressed against his side, and my feet crossed around his knee. I wanted to be close; I needed it. "I promise, I'm excited." I murmured, trying hard to lay completely still. I made sure to keep my hands fisted, so my palms wouldn't expose the dirty thoughts that were blaring in my mind. I was savoring the feeling of touching him – I had never let myself get this close to him. We had exchanged a few short, awkward hugs. But, I was always left wanting more. I needed to make sure he was comfortable with me like this, before I could ever reveal my feelings.

He took in a sharp breath, but then exhaled. Relaxing with his breathing, he attentively dropped his arm to my back and laid his palm between my shoulders. I sighed in content; this felt _so_ good. Neither of us spoke, we just breathed together, trying to relax. I could feel the tension though, neither of us were completely at ease. We had never been this close – but he didn't pull away. He didn't move and he didn't question me. He just . . . laid with me.

"Are you coming over tomorrow?" I asked simply, hoping he would say yes.

He chuckled, "I wouldn't miss it for the world. It's not everyday you turn seven and you're frozen in time forever."

I froze, and frowned. He had never mentioned my age, and it made me nervous.

"Yeah, but I'm an adult. I have a doctorate, Jacob. I don't look seven." I contended, "And, I'm not even a real high school student. It's just for fun. I have a GED, and have since I was 2."

I didn't know if I was making this better, or worse.

"Nessie, I know. You're a genius, you're five-of-a-kind - but the best one in my book." He replied easily, his cheek rested against my head.

God, this felt nice.

"You've never met any of the others." I replied, sassily.

He smiled against my hair, and it felt like he even placed a kiss there. "I don't need to."

His hand on my back begun trailing patterns along my skin. Rubbing over my shoulders, ghosting down my arms. He stopped at my neck, rubbing it gently before moving on to twirl my hair. I could feel the slight brush of his nails against my thin t-shirt with every twist of his finger. I felt the same heat rush inside me, and my hips twitched, towards Jake. I held my breath, hoping he didn't notice.

He stopped suddenly, and I felt his hot breath against the top of my head again. He moved his hand up to my cheek, and pushed my curls out of my face.

"Are you okay, Nessie?"

I let out a sigh through my nose, and pushed my face into his chest. I inhaled deeply once, before pulling myself away from him and upwards. I sat with my back facing him, my head burrowed into my arms.

"No – yes." I started slowly, I had to tread lightly. "I don't know. I've been meaning to talk to you. I _need_ to talk to you."

I felt the rush of air as he sat up. He didn't even have to try when he spun me around. His eyes were light again, and concern washed over his features.

"What's wrong, Ness? You can tell me anything – I promise."

I decided to glance up at him, his compassion made my existence melt into a puddle.

"Well, I have been . . . feeling things. I get these . . . knots." I mumbled. "If that's what you could call them, and it's . . . strange. And I just - can't stop thinking, _wondering_ . . . about someone." I finished quietly. I was not doing a great job explaining this thus far.

His eyebrows furrowed, "Knots? Is someone hurting you?" He asked, alarmed.

I sighed and dropped my gaze to my feet, playing with the hem of my jeans. I snuck my eyes back up, seeing him still staring at me intensely.

"No, Jacob. No ones hurting me. I only hang out with Seth and . . . you." I finished quietly, almost silently. "Jacob. It feels good, but I don't know - I want to tell _him,_ but I'm afraid."

He exhaled heavily, and ran his hand through his hair. He then scrubbed his face and pulled his hair back quickly into a bun. His expression was pained, to say the least. "Nessie - I don't think – I mean – maybe you should talk to someone else about this. Your mom, Blondie?" His new favorite nickname for Aunt Rose.

I scoffed to myself, little did he know we already _had _a conversation. Many. All about how I needed to tell Jacob how I was feeling. I was trying to tip toe around my confession – explain my lust for him without it sounding like lust. I was fucking drowning.

"I want to talk to you about this, _Jacob._" I said his name loudly, and it felt weird. I had gotten into the habit of calling him Jake, a nickname I felt special using.

"I think I understand, Nessie. I . . ." He trailed off, lowering his gaze.

Did he really understand?

My heart fluttered, but I was still eager to hear him say it out loud. "Well?" I questioned anxiously.

He sighed, and rubbed his hands against his thighs. "You get knots, yeah? And it feels . . . good?"

I swallowed nervously, "Yes."

"Is this happening when . . . this _someone_ touches you?"

I let in a shallow breath and looked away. "Most of the time."

He didn't answer, so I looked back at him. He looked like he was . . . upset. "A guy? You want to tell him?"

I licked my lips and and whispered, my voice cracking, "Yes. A _man_." I corrected.

Our eyes remained in contract for a long moment, until he broke away and stared past me into the fire. His face crumpled . . . he looked sad.

"You know him, Jacob." I whispered again, hoping he would understand.

"Renesmee." He started, my full name sounding foreign coming from his lips.

I stared at him. Please, don't make me say it. Please Jacob.

"Its normal, don't worry. It happens to everyone."

Wait, what? What did he think I was trying to get at by telling him this?

I blinked in shock – he didn't get it. And, this definitely secured the fact in my mind that he did not feel the same. If he couldn't see my feelings, it was because he had none at all.

He was just being my friendly, fucking Spanish teacher.

I didn't know what to say, I couldn't salvage anything from this conversation. It went the complete wrong way and there was no going back. Jacob and I would be friends forever.

I groaned and fell back against the floor. "Okay, Jacob. Whatever." I hissed.

"Nessie – what? It's okay, you don't have to be embarrassed. I won't say anything." He said, his voice sounded strained.

Say anything? To who, my parents? I was entirely too confused.

"Nessie, I promise. Best friends, yeah? They don't break promises."

Best friends? Who did he think I was talking about? As if I didn't spend all my free time with him, who else would there be? I had no room - no time for anyone else.

Rejection washed over me. Jacob _had_ to of known what I was talking about, he was just trying to avoid saying it out loud to hurt me. He was rejecting me. He didn't want me. Wow. Okay, not how I pictured this to go.

"Yeah, okay." I mumbled, turning away from him. He pulled me back and into his side, his arm draping over me.

"We're okay, yeah?" He asked me, checking his movements.

I sighed, and crumpled against him. I fucking hated this. I was cowering. At least he wanted to be close, but damn it. Now his skin burned hot against mine and was hurting my feelings more. I wanted to shrug him off, but couldn't bring myself to do it.

"Yep, it's fine." I muttered. I couldn't help the thoughts that were coming into my brain like a tank. Regardless of him rejecting me, I still felt pleasure in being this close to him. My stomach still knotted, and my brain recalled my daydream from earlier:

Jacob and I laid by the fire in a pool of blankets, both of us naked under one lone sheet. His fiery russet skin pressed against mine. His arms pinning mine above my head, exposing my chest and neck to his teeth and lips. I buckled my hips against his and we both growled in satisfaction. I wanted to kiss him so badly.

The heat rushed between my legs again, and I felt my face blush. How could he reject me and I still desired to be with him in every way? My eyes flashed to my hand when I felt the electricity. My hand that just happened to be holding Jacob's, the one that was flung over my shoulder.

Jacob froze, and neither of us spoke. Oh God. He pushed himself away and stood up quickly.

"Nessie? Was that - did you?!" He asked loudly, stuttering on his words. He turned in his place and shuddered. He physically _shuddered._

I transported my thoughts. My dirty, awful thoughts after he just told me we could only be friends. I almost fainted when I realized the severity of what I've done.

"I – did nothing!" I shouted, lying seemed like the better choice to make at the moment.

"I know!" He shouted back, and begun pacing. His body was ridged, and I felt like a tiny mouse besides him. "I'm so sorry." he whispered.

Sorry?

"How did you – I thought you couldn't do that." He continued, his eyes searching my face.

"Jacob, what are you talking about?" I nearly screamed, his ramblings were seriously beginning to confuse me.

He paused, and looked at me with pain. "Nessie, I am so – so sorry. That was so _inappropriate_."

I froze in my place. If I thought the rejection was bad before – this was completely different. My face fell, and tears escaped my eyes. I felt my hands shaking. Jacob was disgusted with me. I was inappropriate.

I never imagined it to hurt when he knew how I felt, I only imagined us kissing and telling each other how much we cared. I imagined he would feel the same.

How fucking dumb and naïve of me.

Tears flooded my eyes, and he was a blur.


	10. Undeniable, Unapologetic, Love

**A/N:** I was so nervous to write this! I honestly wrote the ending like four different ways - but I just had to do this. Poor Nessie, I needed to give her some happiness! Dramatic shift throughout the whole chapter, from beginning to end, a lot of realizations! Thank you for the reviews, and the story suggestions! I will be checking those out xx

* * *

Chapter Ten – Undeniable, unapologetic; love

* * *

_you are  
__the sun the moon  
__and stars are you  
__and I could never  
__run away from you_

_-radiohead, you_

oOoOo

Tears streamed down my face like currents, and sobs wracked my chest. Every heave pushed the knife of rejection deeper into my soul.

"Jacob, don't you get it?" I managed to get out between sobs. "It's right in front of you."

He stepped up to me and went to wrap his arms around me, but I flinched away. "Nessie, please. What can I do? I didn't mean -"

"You're blind, Jacob. Fucking blind." I spat. My voice sounded like poison. His face broke, and tears washed over my eyes again. I wanted to make him feel my pain too, but damn if it didn't hurt me too.

"Don't you dare come after me." I advised angrily, and turned on my heel. I heard Seth walk into the room, and just as I was turning he met my eyes. He had to of heard everything - he looked lost, confused.

"You promised!" I screeched and ran past him and out the house.

I ran as fast as my legs would carry me, darting through trees and over rocks. I could hear Jacob yell after me, the sound of his body shifting and huge paws behind me.

I knew I wasn't running as fast as I wanted, it was proving to be extremely difficult to run and cry at the same time but I did it anyways. I didn't want him to catch me, this wasn't our game anymore. I was running from him and I didn't want to look back and see him there. I wanted to be as far away from Jacob Black as I could get. My soul ached, and my heart felt like it was ripped from my body.

"Leave me alone Jacob!"

I could hear him fall back behind me, his pursuit slowing. I cried harder, brushing tears away as I jumped from a bolder over a small creek. The knife plunged deeper. He truly didn't want me.

I could smell my families sweet scent from two miles away, and pushed on.

_Daddy, please hear me. I need momma, I need you._

I cried out internally, needing my parents cold embrace to protect me from the pain. I needed to be held, and soothed. Something I haven't craved since I was a child.

I propelled myself through the last bit of woods right before crossing the clearing of trees and towards my front yard. There they both stood, waiting for me at the bottom of the porch stairs.

I rushed into my mothers waiting arms and wailed against her cold chest.

"Momma." I nearly-shouted, letting the sobs rack through my chest.

"Renesmee - " Daddy begun, but my crying cut him off.

The yard was filled with the sound of my uncontrollable crying, echoing against the trees.

"Renesmee, did he hurt you? What's wrong? What did he do?" He gently asked, panic surged through his voice. I could feel his cold hands rubbing my back, and smoothing out my hair.

"He – he – he – lo - looked disgusted! He said we could be _friends_!" I screamed, knowing full well I was definitely acting hysterical right now. Jacob could probably hear me - I hoped he did.

I threw my head back, and let out a loud cry before burying my head back into my mother's chest.

"I'll be back." My father said coldly, and swiftly took off. I had no energy to stop him.

I could smell _him_ approaching, I knew it was him. He was coming after me, just like I told him not to. The idea put a burst of hope in my mind but I shot it down.

"Let me go, Edward. I need to see her!" I heard him shout. I shivered involuntarily. My uncles flew past us, the air swept up around us, sending my hair whooshing away from my face.

I continued to cry, and momma shh'd me and rubbed my back, rocking us back and forth as we stood embraced.

She gently lifted me into her arms, and carried me inside. She went past the rest of my family who all stared at me in shock and sympathy. "Go away." I whispered, burying my face into my mother's neck. I was vulnerable, I felt like a little girl again being coddled but I didn't care. I needed this.

I could smell Jacob from inside the house, he was outside, talking – no – arguing - with my dad. His scent still intoxicating to me, I turned my nose to my mother's shirt and inhaled her sweet scent deeply. I needed to get rid of him. He had to get out of my head. Her scent was always comforting to me, she smelled like lavender and eucalyptus. But right now, there was nothing to comfort me of this pain.

How could I be so bothered, by the rejection of a man I had met a little over two weeks ago? Was that all it took? Two weeks for a man to crush me, the thought made me feel weak.

My mind trailed back to the conversation between the two men outside, I couldn't pick out everything, but I eavesdropped none-the-less. My mind was frantic, but knowing Jacob came after me . . . it gave me something I could really focus on.

"What . . . did you . . . crying . . ." Daddies voice was strained, hushed-yelling. I could only make out bits and pieces.

The sound of tree bark crunching made me jump.

She lifted my chin, forcing me to look at her, breaking me out of my Jacob-trance. He broke my heart but still got every ounce of my attention, how was that fair?

I barely could see her, the tears stinging and blurring my vision. She brushed them away, one by one and smiled sadly at me. Her big topaz eyes expressed solace and love, it felt like she understood my pain.

I had barely noticed through my fits of crying, but the majority of my family was all hovering around the open door way, staring at me with concern. Aunt Rose was the closest, her face was twisted in agony. She wanted to comfort me, too. I looked at her sadly, and she rushed right over. I let myself fall into her arms, out of my mothers. She brought me to her breast and hugged me tight, kissing my head and smoothing out my curls along my back.

"I will never let that _dog _hurt you again." She whispered, kissing my face like she was trying to take away all my pain. Usually I would have told her to not call him that, but not this time.

I felt myself calm, and happiness bubbled over. _Jasper._

"Do not _mess_ with me right now!" I screeched, pushing away from Aunt Rose and glaring at my Uncle Jasper. The feeling dropped and my anguish and rejection came over me like a crashing wave once more. His face fell, I understood he was just trying to help. But I needed to feel this.

"Renesmee, you have to explain what happened." Momma said calmly, stroking my hair next to Rose.

I cried harder, remembering his words once more and crumbled against my Aunts rock body. A few seconds past, I reached out and fell back into mommas arms, placing my palm on her cheek like I was a child again.

_Please, they have to go. I don't want them here._

Momma didn't say a word, but before I knew it I could hear the door close and it was just us again.

She let me cry until I was calming down again, and then spoke up. It's like she knew the tears would come in waves.

"Jacob?" Was all she said, and I was exploding into sobs all over again. She had her answer.

"He doesn't feel the same, mom! He hates me, he has to." I blubbered. I wrapped my arms around her and cried harder into her chest. "Jacob thinks we should only be friends!"

Saying his name was worse than hearing it. It dug the knife in my soul deeper, I felt like I was almost tattered to pieces. I never thought I would experience heartbreak; in the movies it doesn't look the way it feels. I cried until the tears physically wouldn't come anymore, laying with my mom and letting her rock me like I was a baby again. It felt like an eternity before she spoke, but it probably had only been a few minutes.

"It's going to be alright, it will work itself out." She soothed, pushing my hair back and rubbing a cold thumb over my cheek.

"Mom, you don't understand." I urged, hoping she could just read my mind in that moment like daddy. "I ruined my chance."

"No, Renesmee. You ruined nothing." She comforted me. "He's probably just upset, but he will come around."

I groaned and sniffled, rubbing my swollen eyes while I sat up. "Mom, I tried to tell him. But, he didn't understand – and then he saw and I didn't mean to - its so hard not to show him. It's like my mind betrays me!" I was speaking half-coherently, the exhaustion from crying was taking over.

I stared into her frozen topaz eyes, searching for answers. "So . . . you told him how you felt?" She questioned tenderly.

"I mean – not exactly." I mumbled, casting my gaze downwards.

"What did you tell him?"

I sighed, how could I explain this in words?

I decided I just had to show her. I would painfully relive my Jacob-fueled trauma. I pressed my open palm to her cheek and opened my mind, going back to when Jacob laid next to me. I was too tired to hold anything back, and didn't have it in me to feel embarrassed.

After a few moments, I pulled my hand away and dropped it into my lap.

"See? I ruined everything." I mumbled, refusing to meet her eyes.

She sighed, and then chuckled. "Oh, sweet girl. Honey." She urged, the sweetness in her tone forcing me to snap my eyes up. "Jacob does not hate you. I think Jacob is confused, and I also think you are too." She said softly, rubbing my cheeks with both of her hands.

"You're feeling things you never have before, and you have to remember – Jacob hasn't been around your whole life. He can't understand you the way we might. I could see how you thought he would get what you were trying to tell him. He's very polite, and he would never assume you were talking about him."

"Do you think he knows I meant him, when I said 'him'?" I exasperated, realizations clicking in my mind one after another.

_I won't say anything._

His voice rang in my mind, over and over. There was still a chance he felt the same. He could have thought I was talking about someone else; he probably was just trying to comfort me. He was being his sweet, compassionate and selfless self. For me.

"I think you have to ask him that yourself."

I stood up quickly, "Oh, momma. I messed up. I have to fix this!"

She grabbed my hand and pulled me towards their bed.

"Renesmee, its eleven at night. You have school and your big party tomorrow, remember?" She said, patting the mattress.

I gulped, seriously _gulped_. I couldn't see him at school without talking to him beforehand. There's no way I would survive that. Staring at him for an hour without being to say; Jacob I'm sorry, Jacob you misunderstood. Jacob, I love you.

Okay, whoa. Love, Renesmee? I froze in my spot, saying it again in my mind - hearing myself use those words was bewildering. I had never loved anyone besides my family. Was I truly feeling love, or was it still lust?

I rushed over to her, "Can I stay home tomorrow? Please, momma. I really, really would rather stay here with you guys. We can go hunting, please?" I begged, blinking rapidly and batting my lashes. I definitely could not see Jacob now.

She sighed, and pulled me down. "I knew you would ask that."

"Please?" I asked again.

She nodded, and I was so thankful. I had time to figure out what I was going to do.

I laid down next to her, and allowed her to cradle me. She laid with me until I began drifting off to the sound of her voice telling me sweet stories and tales. The last one I heard before falling into the darkness of sleep was about a werewolf, in love with a princess.

oOoOo

My eyes fluttered open, and I was alone in my parents bed. Soft yellow and orange hues broke through the blinds of the windows, and for a moment, I forgot. I forgot about the hour's worth of sobbing, the painful hole in my heart and soul, the confusing of my new feelings and almost – almost I forgot about Jacob.

But really, I could never forget him. His sweet smile, his dark eyes, his strong cheekbones and jawline. The way his black hair curtained around his face.

I closed my eyes tight and buried my face into the pillows. I wasn't even upset with him anymore, which was my biggest annoyance. My soul still felt that weird emptiness from the possible rejection, but I no longer was mad or upset with Jacob. I was overwhelmed with the possibility that I _love_ Jacob. I was hopeful that last night was just a huge misunderstanding and we could still be together. And, that hurt a lot more. I did love him. There was no way that I didn't. Would anyone cry the way they did over someone they did not love? No, I didn't think so. I loved him so much that I couldn't stay mad at him, and I definitely couldn't stop admiring him even when he may have broken my heart in two. How fucked was that?

"Knock-knock." My sweet Aunt Rose's voice called from a crack of the door.

I looked up to see her holding a to-go cup of coffee from my favorite café and a little brown paper baggy. Coffee cake. She knew me well.

"Good morning Aunt Rose." I said sweetly, reaching out to meet her handing me my goodies.

"Happy birthday, angel. Welcome to forever." She smiled at me, but it was sort of a sad smile. Slow, and small.

I took a sip of my latte and smiled, "Mmm, I needed this. Thank you."

She looked me over, examining me as if I had changed in the hours that I slept. The likeliness was that I did. I always did on the night before my birthday. Her eyebrows furrowed and she picked up a long tendril of my hair, then touched my cheek lightly with her fingers.

"Amazing." She whispered, and her eyes sparkled. "Renesmee, you are so beautiful. Watching you grow, and taking care of you has been my greatest gift." She kissed the top of my head and left the room. "Come down when you're ready and we'll leave for a hunt."

I furrowed my brows and watched her glide out of my room. I touched my own face with a free hand and set my cup on the nightstand. I scrambled off the bed and rushed to the mirror next to the closet.

My eye widened. I _had_ changed, more than I expected too. I went from looking like a gangly 16-year-old who had just begun filling out to a _woman_. In a matter of hours. I was maybe an inch taller, my breasts had plumped, my waist remained the same but my hips curved out like an hourglass. I fingered a curl, to see my hair had grown too. Not a lot, but an inch or two. My legs looked much more toned, less lanky. I couldn't believe it. My growth spurts never were this drastic before - in terms of my . . . assets.

The day I looked forward to my whole life was finally here – and I was terrified. I thought I would be excited, but I didn't recognize myself completely. I was still me – same big, brown eyes, same pale skin, same freckles that danced across my button nose – but it was the way I felt. I felt . . . different, to say the least. I had truly felt _grown_. The world looked different; I could see things clearer. I could even hear my family's conversations through the walls and down the stairs. I was stuck here, forever. Never changing. I didn't know if the thought excited me anymore, or if I felt truly petrified. I walked away from my reflection and opened the door. I slowly walked across the hall to my room, hoping to evade any of my relatives before I was dressed, and slipped inside quickly. I had noticed immediately Aunt Alice laid an outfit out for me on my bed. It was practical, but extra. Tight black jeans, a white ribbed turtleneck and a cute corduroy coat with Sherpa lining. At least she stayed within the limits of my style.

I quickly showered, and did my usual morning routine, without looking at my reflection. I knew it was illogical, but I was scared I would look and be different again.

My mind kept trailing off to Jacob, but every time I shut it down. No, he did not get to be in my head today. I needed to enjoy my day and not agonize over how I was going to fix our misunderstanding from last night.

I tried to pull on a bra and underwear, but they didn't fit. I groaned.

"Alice?" I muttered out loud, hating having to ask her for help - knowing she would give me something ridiculous.

In a heartbeat, she was in front of my towel clad self.

I held up my too-small-for-new-Nessie garments.

Nessie. Ouch. That stung.

"Oh, _oh_." Aunt Alice exasperated. Her hand flew over her mouth. "Renesmee –"

I sighed, "Yes. I know."

She walked up to me and smiled bright, clasping her hands together. "I already knew you were going to call me up here though – check your closet!"

I glared and walked over, and peered inside. There on the bench was a pink bag. I turned and looked at her. "Thank you, Alice." My cheeks flushed and I walked all the way in the closet. I pulled out the garments and examined them. Not bad, but also not what I was expecting. It was all lace and chic, nothing like the cotton I had been accustomed to. I picked up a tiny black piece, made with thin lace and miniature bows. I whimpered.

I slid them on and surprisingly, felt comfortable. I turned and looked at my butt in the mirror – maybe Jacob would like me now.

No, stop that. You don't get to think that. Not before you've talked to him.

"Huh." I said out loud, raising an eyebrow. I found a matching bralette, and clasped it behind my back. I had already known Alice left, but I still tip toed out of the closet regardless. I walked over to my bed and pulled the jeans on swiftly, jumping as I yanked them up. "Jeeze, Alice." I muttered. I buttoned them right below my belly button, and pulled the sweater on. Tucking it in the front, and grabbing the jacket.

I started to walk out of the room before tuning on my heel, I grabbed a pair of boot socks and my trusty doc's.

I skipped out of my room and back into my parents, picking up my coffee and cake before flying myself down the stairs. I had managed to shove most of the pastry in my mouth before coming to the middle of the stairs. I was balancing the coffee in my right hand while simultaneously pulling on the boots and my jacket at the same time, all while descending the stairs. I kept waiting for my usual clumsiness to get to me – but it didn't. I was graceful and quick in my movements. I was beginning to enjoy the new me.

I hopped onto the wooden floors, fully dressed, coffee in hand and grinned widely. My entire family was staring at me, in disbelief.

"Holy shit, Renesmee!" Emmett boomed, he stood up off the couch quickly and put his arms in the air.

Aunt Rose smacked his side and he sat down quickly, looking over at her sheepishly.

"Happy birthday, Renesmee!" They all said in unison. I smiled and curtsied.

"Thank you, everyone." I replied, reaching the eyes of every one of my family members.

I looked to my father and mother last, who were holding on to each other tightly. Their topaz eyes examined me quickly, and daddy sucked in a breath.

_I know, daddy. It's okay. I'm still your little girl._

His lips curved up in a crooked grin, "I know you are – I just wasn't expecting this."

My mother escaped his embrace and came to me, pulling me into her stone, cold arms. "I thought I was loosing it when I watched you sleep and you begun to change before my eyes, but now I can see. My baby, so grown up." She kissed my forehead and released me. Grandpa Carlisle came up to me and smiled his soft, kind smile.

"My dear, lets do some measurements and tests and then we can go."

I nodded, knowing the routine of every birthday. Carlisle would check my heart, my temperature, and would attempt to take my blood – that never worked, my skin was impenetrable. He would look at my teeth, my eyes, my ears. Measure how tall I was, check my weight and then we would go hunt so he could track my speed, my ability to jump and to see what the effect of blood would do to me.

My birthday routine had almost pulled me away from my Jacob sadness, but I shoved my feelings down. I wouldn't let this bother me. This was my last growing birthday for my family, and I wanted to make sure we all enjoyed it.

"The curve of your growth has jumped, but that's to be expected. Renesmee, have you noticed anything else? Did your menstrual cycle begin?" He asked, flipping back and forth between pages on my chart.

I shook my head 'no', looking down at my legs dangling off the examine table. My mind flashed back to all the times I sat here, across from the mirror on the wall. My face and body shifting with each memory.

"Okay, that's all then. We can leave now." He smiled and touched my shoulder. "I hope today is the happiest one of all."

I smiled back and decided to hug him, something I rarely did. His cold arms embraced me back, "I love you, Grandpa." I said softly. "Thank you for teaching me, and taking care of me. You have shaped me in more ways than I can explain."

My eyes watered and I pulled away from him, looking over his tender face. He was also so calm, and put together. But, he finally looked different. He looked sad – but the happy kind of sad.

"I love you as well, Renesmee." He kissed my forehead and helped me off the tabled, guiding me out of his study and back into the living room.

"Lets go get some grizzly!" Emmett boomed, before taking off out the door. I rolled my eyes and glanced at my family.

"I guess we'll see you out there!" I called past my shoulder as I flew out the door after my Uncle.

I caught up to him easily, and he looked over at me with annoyance. "Can you keep up short stuff?" He jokingly asked, and pushed ahead. I groaned, noticing the blurs of white fly past me.

Damn vampires.

We ran for miles, into the dense Canadian forests. Laughing and jumping as we went. I was weaving in and out between the couples of my family, tagging them as I ran. The scent of elk hit my nose, and I turned on my heel, following its gamey blood. I hoped onto a boulder and stopped quick, crouching down quietly. It lifted its head and peered around, then dropped it back down to eat grass. I took my chance and jumped, tackling it to the ground and snapping its neck instantly. I hated that part, the actual killing. It hurt my heart taking a life, but daddy always assured me it was all within the means of the universe and that –

"The circle of life always comes back around." He said, finishing my thoughts out loud. I looked over at him with a teasing, annoyed glare and sank my teeth into its neck. Blood pooled into my mouth and I gulped it down quickly. I was thirstier than I thought. The thick, warm iron coated my throat, relieving the itch and sending shivers down my spine.

I finished and pushed its body away. I turned and looked for a flower and found none. I glanced to my father, who was holding out a single wildflower for me.

I smiled and took it from him, laying it on top of the elk's side. "Thank you for giving me strength, your life will not be forgotten." I said, watching daddy mouth the words with me. It was something my mother taught me to do. When I was young, I had no disregard for their lives. I just killed, ate, and walked away. She made sure I learned how important it was to say thank you.

I guess in a way; it was sort of like praying. But . . . completely different.

"Did you already eat?" I asked him, walking around to grab his hand.

He nodded, "Yes, I wasn't too thirsty."

I looked around and heard nothing besides the sounds of the forest.

"Where's momma?"

"Ahead, they found the rest of the herd." I nodded, understandingly.

And then I smelled it. Pine, and honey. The smell of fall, October air. _Jacob_.

I turned fast, dropping daddies hand and locked eyes with him immediately. He stood there, shirtless and shoeless. His chest heaving like he had just run a hundred miles. His solid stomach glistened as the rays of sun breaking through the trees hit his russet skin.

He was so beautiful. The sting of my heartache was still present, but some how seeing him made it hurt less. Being away from him hurt a whole hell of a lot more. I thought being this close to him, smelling his intoxicating scent, staring into his toffee eyes – would rip me to shreds. But, I was coming together – not undone. Just being near him was healing me.

Damn it, Jake.

I hadn't even recognized daddy fall away from me, but he did. He left, something I never expected him to do.

So there we were, staring at each other across from the dead body of an elk.

Romantic.

"Happy birthday, Nessie." He finally spoke, his voice coming out warm and wonderful. My knees felt weak. His eyes strayed from mine, trailing down my body. He wasn't being sneaky, it was as if he _wanted _me to see he was looking. I suddenly felt a little uncomfortable under his gaze. I shifted, the knot in my stomach returning.

Seriously? Renesmee, you're pathetic.

"You look . . . different." He commented with a smile when I didn't respond. "Older."

I pursed my lips and brought my hands behind my back. "I grew, but I'm done now." I replied, the air between us getting uncomfortably tense. Did he want to hug me as much as I wanted to hug him? I wanted to rush over, and beg him to forgive me. He looked down at the elk, then to the flower, then to me. He smiled and stepped over its body, breaking the space between us. It was like he read my mind.

Jacobs hot arms pulled me against his body quickly. He didn't hesitate, he didn't ask – he just did it. I nearly collapsed right then and there. Jacob was holding me, half naked, and kissing the top of my head.

What the fuck was happening?

Something changed, definitely. This was not our normal interaction. Maybe he did know, maybe he finally could see my feelings.

"Nessie, I am so sorry. I am so – so sorry. Hearing you cry, knowing I made you feel that way _killed_ me. Every time I heard you make that awful sound, my stomach curled. I got sick just knowing I put you through that pain. I never would do that to you intentionally. I promise, Nessie. I will never go there again. Please, forgive me." He relented, his tone was so sincere and hoarse. Jacob was upset? About upsetting me?

I wanted to cry, but I was seriously cried out. I wanted to say Jacob, I love you. I love you and its crazy but everything about you makes me crazy. I don't understand why I do, but I do.

I settled for, "I forgive you, Jacob. I'm sorry I didn't make any sense. We can still be friends, right?" I asked, unable to pull away to look up at him.

Jacob, kiss me. Do you love me? We can be more than friends. I'm scared you don't feel the same.

His body tensed for a millisecond, but he relaxed just as I noticed it.

"Anything you want, Renesmee."

I want you. I want you to kiss me; to take me. I want your hand all over my body and to feel your hair tickle my face.

"I want to be friends." I lied, but it came out smoother than I could imagine. I couldn't ruin this moment by bringing up yesterdays events. I wouldn't do that again, just when I got him to be this close. I would take what I could get.

"I made something for you." He whispered against my head. For a moment, it seemed like he was inhaling my scent. But, maybe that was just a normal breath.

I pulled away, and finally dared to look up at him.

"Jake, you didn't have to –"

He shh'd me, bringing his finger to my lips. My breath caught, feeling his hot, rough finger against my lips brought a shiver down my spine.

He smirked and pulled his hand away, digging in his pocket. He pulled out a small, woven leather bracelet. It was beautiful. He placed it around my wrist and I couldn't look away. A little wooden wolf charm hung daintily from the strap, and that's when I noticed two words etched into the leather. "Kwop Kilawtley?" I questioned, looking up at him.

His face turned pink, but he didn't move away from me. Our bodies were still so close, leaning into each other. "It's a phrase in my tribe's language."

I furrowed my brows, remembering what he had told me. He was Quileute Indian, and I had researched the language. Learning a lot of it within hours, but this was something I did not know.

He bowed his head down, his lips brushed against my ear. "It means, 'stay with me forever'." He whispered, pushing the hair back behind it and kissing my temple.

And then I understood. Jacob was showing me, showing me that he knew. He was acknowledging my feelings and . . . reciprocating them. He knew how I felt and was giving me what I wanted. He didn't have to say it out loud, because it was shooting between us like electric currents.

Love. It was there, strong and fierce. Undeniable, unapologetic; love


	11. Imprint Magic

**A/N: **Who can blame me? Had to get them together. But, don't worry. Plenty of future Seth/Nessie dialogue, they do return to school, a ton of smutsy angst, Jacob being every girls dream ect ect . . . you'll just have to keep reading ;) Also - wow! We hit 1,100 views! Thanks to **MrsWaylandOdinsonBlack, SnapeSnapeSevRusSnape, Readaholic187, **and **hbyrd 28** for reviewing and reading, I so appreciate it! It gives me my motivation to continue to write!

* * *

Chapter Eleven – Imprint Magic

* * *

_and I swear_  
_by the moon_  
_and the stars in the sky_  
_I'll be there_  
_I swear like a shadow_  
_that's by your side_  
_I'll be there_

_-all-4-one, I swear_

oOoOo

I felt the air whoosh out from beneath me, my legs buckled and I was about to hit the forest floor – but then he caught me. I was dipped in his arms, black hair falling past his face and over mine like a curtain blocking us from the world. My ability to breathe was gone – all I could do was hold on and stare into his eyes; his beautiful, toffee eyes. His breath was hot and labored, hanging over my mouth, beckoning me in.

He pulled me up, but didn't release me.

"Stay with you forever?" I wondered aloud in a whisper.

He let go of me and stood back, "Nessie. I have to tell you something."

I swallowed nervously and nodded, letting him take my hand and lead me away, deeper into the woods.

After a few minutes of silence, I couldn't handle it any longer. "Where are we going?" I impatiently asked.

He sighed, "I don't know – no where really. I just . . . this is important. I wanted to wait, but I can't."

I was getting agitated with consistently asking him questions trying to make sense of what was going on.

"Is this about last night?" I tentatively inquired.

He dropped his hand from mine, and ran it through his hair. I loved when he did that. "Sort of. Look – okay. God, Nessie. I don't even know where to begin." He announced, clearly flustered. He sat down on a boulder and scrubbed his face with his palms.

I pulled his hands into mine, "Jake, stop. It's okay. I – I think we misunderstood each other. It's my fault." I clarified. I took a moment to admire his hands, and how much I enjoyed feeling them in mine.

His voice brought me out of my thoughts. "No, Ness. It's mine. I should have just told you from the start, but I wanted you to choose. I wanted it to be your choice."

"Jacob, sometimes you speak in riddles and I_ can't _understand you. What are you talking about?"

He continued on, seemingly ignoring my plea. "But, then you_ saw_ what I was thinking, and I thought I fucked up –"

I dropped his hands and gasped, "Jacob I can't read minds! _What_ are you talking about?" I exploded, my mind was racing trying to piece together his ramblings.

"Yes – yes you did. You saw – "

My eyes widened. He was talking about _my_ thoughts. _My _fantasy.

"No, Jacob." I said calmly, but truly - I was beginning to lose it. "_You_ saw."

And just like that. Everything in the world stopped moving. The birds faded away, the wind silenced – even the sun hid behind the clouds. Until it was just us.

His eyes steadily lifted to meet mine, and then he stood up fast; immediately towering over me. "I saw?" He repeated.

I inhaled longer than necessary, "We – we were on the floor. Together, under a sheet."

He nodded slowly, his gaze was locked in on me but I could tell his brain was elsewhere. In seconds, his brown eyes darkened. They darted down, to stare at my hands, then back to my face. "Nessie – _oh_."

I dropped my head back, and looked up at the trees. Waiting for the world to start spinning again, but it hadn't. I chuckled and crossed my arms, returning my gaze back to him.

"Do you see now, Jacob?"

He laughed, and then laughed harder. He was chuckling to himself with a grin I've never seen before. He ran his hands through his hair a few times and stepped towards me. His smile faded and his face relaxed.

He grazed his hands across my arms, taking my wrists gently and uncrossing them. He let them drop to my side as he ghosted his finger tips up my arms until his hands were on my shoulders. "I do. I see now, what you meant when you told me it was right in front of me. I'm not blind anymore, Ness." He whispered, moving his hands upwards and taking my face in his giant palms. He beamed at me.

I closed my eyes and leaned into his hands, memorizing the moment. The edges of his fingertips, the rough padding on his palms. The heat, the strength - I could feel so much just from his hands. A single tear escaped my eye, but he caught it before it could fall. His fingers brushing along my skin so pleasantly. He cupped my cheek again and his eyes glanced to my lips, then back to my eyes.

I couldn't speak, and I was still barely managing to breathe.

He nuzzled his face into my neck, laying closed-mouth delicate kisses along my skin. My breath drew in sharply, my senses began going into overload. His mouth felt so much better than I dreamt. Warm, soft and _so_ right.

"Nessie, I know you were trying to tell me last night. I just didn't believe it could be me. I never imagined." He continued, filling the silence in the air with everything I needed to hear.

"All the thinking . . . wondering . . . dreaming . . . I have been too, Nessie. About you. From the moment I laid my eyes on you. I tried to convince myself that it was wrong, but it was always right. It will always be right. I'm sorry it took me so long to catch on."

I choked on my sobs; I couldn't help it now. It wasn't sadness though - it was relief. I was _so_ fucking relieved.

I wrapped my arms around his waist and buried my face against his chest, relishing in how good it felt.

He chuckled, "I had convinced myself that it was Seth. That you wanted _him_."

"Oh, Jacob." I murmured, unable to say anything else. I peered up at him, to see him staring down at me. He sighed, and a small lazy smile graced his face. "It's you, Jacob. It's only ever been you."

"Renesmee," he breathed, taking his hand and pulling my face up towards his. I was now on my tip toes. "I want to kiss you."

I felt my whole body erupt in tingles, my face flushed and I would have collapsed right there if he wasn't holding me. Finally, he _finally_ got it. It took me a few moments to remember to exhale the breath I was holding, it wouldn't have been so hard if his beautiful toffee eyes weren't piercing into mine.

"Kiss me, Jacob." I whispered, my voice barely coherent.

He wrapped his free hand behind me, his fingers curling around my waist. Tilting my chin up gently he paused, and looked deeply into my eyes. "I have to tell you something first."

I whimpered, earning a chuckle from Jacob.

"Okay." Jacob seemed to say to himself with a smile as he pulled back from me and dropped his hands to mine. "Renesmee, when I first saw you – _ah_ \- something . . . changed." He stated, working slowly though his words. "It's a . . . shape-shifter thing." He sighed, and released one of my hands to shakily run it through his hair. "When our eyes met: all I could see was you. Your beautiful, chocolate brown eyes captivated me. I have never see a more beautiful woman, than you. You took my breath away, you set my bones on fire and you made my spine tingle. When I looked at you, you were the only thing in the world I could see. You made me feel like I wasn't honed in on gravity. Everything I thought mattered, didn't anymore. Only . . . only you did." He finished, his voice deep and enticing.

My breath was shallow and shaky, I felt entirely too lightheaded hearing him talk about me like that. I was speechless; dumbfounded. Jacob felt that way, about me?

"Shifters . . . we sort of have this cheat – to uh – find our _soul mate_." He choked out the last word and looked at me closely, watching for my reaction.

My eyes widened and my mouth dropped open. My heart swelled and tingles spread throughout my body. "Soul mate?" I whispered with wide eyes. Was he talking about me?

He smiled slowly, "It's called . . . imprinting. Nessie, when – when I imprinted - uh - it's like gravity pulled me towards _you_. Glowing heat filled my body; the connections of everything else became unimportant. You are the only thing that matters to me. I would do anything to please you. I would do anything to protect you, Nessie." Jacob looked at me lovingly, his eyes filled with hope. "It's not like love at first sight, really. It's more like . . . gravity moves . . . suddenly. It's not Earth holding you here anymore. Your imprint does. You do, Nessie."

It all sounded like something from a fairytale, but I believed him. I had no real reason not to.

I furrowed my brows and looked down, but I couldn't look away for long. "So . . . I'm your . . ."

"Imprint." He finished for me, letting out a long sigh after. "I imprinted on you, Nessie."

"Im . . . print." I sounded out, saying it slowly while I tried to wrap everything around in my mind. "So – I mean – does that mean we're soul mates?" I asked, astounded.

He chuckled, "Most of us view it that way. We're a perfect match, according to the imprint magic. But, I'll be anything you need. Anything you want."

"And, you've known?"

He nodded.

"And, you – you feel . . . the same as me."

He nodded again, watching me curiously.

"Does – um, can I imprint, too?" I puzzled cautiously, remembering I felt strangely similar to the way he felt when we met.

He smiled and tucked a curl behind my ear. "No, but the imprint bond is strong. For both people."

I decided to show him my memory of that day. I pushed my hand onto his cheek and let the memory erupt from my mind into his. The feeling of gravity leaving me and my body floating right where I stood. The tingles I felt looking into his eyes, the butterflies in my stomach, to the way his hands felt around my waist; hot and strong. Making me weak.

I pulled my hand away. "Are you sure?"

His eyebrows relaxed and he grinned at me, "Magic. It's like magic, Ness. For both of us."

"You'll be . . . anything I want? What if I want you to be more? More than . . . a friend."

"If that's what you want." He confirmed.

"And, you don't think it's wrong anymore?" I inquired.

Jacob sighed, "I thought it was wrong because of the position I was in - because you're their daughter, but not being with you is wrong. I spend every moment thinking about you, worrying about you, _wondering_ about you. Every time I see you, all I want to do is hold you, and . . . be with you."

I frowned, "You only feel like this because of the imprint?"

His eyes widened, and he shook his head 'no' vigorously. "I would feel like this regardless of the imprint. I know that for a fact."

I smiled, "So . . . it took you almost a month to tell me this?" I joked.

"I wanted to tell you as soon as I saw you. The imprint magic is amazing, and when it's between two . . . adults . . . it's intense. But, we have rules." He explained.

"Two adults?" I suspiciously asked, ignoring the part about rules.

Jacob looked nervous, "So – the sort of _odd _thing about imprinting . . . is that an imprint can be . . . any age."

My eyes widened. "It's not like that though!" He rushed, "Er – If the imprint is a kid . . . its more like the shifter is the brother or protector. It's a really complicated thing – but the elders say that an imprint bond happens when the shifter needs her most. Our imprint is our lesson, our teacher, our greatest discovery."

"You make it sound like a fairytale." I commented with a nervous laugh.

He gave me a half smile. "Isn't all this just a fairytale, though? Legends and folklore?"

I pursed my lips, "There's no real rules to our life, is there? Besides the obvious – discretion." I affirmed. I smiled slowly at him, and pressed my body against his. "Okay, Jake. I think you told me what you needed to tell me, correct?" I laid my cheek against his chest, hoping he would get the hint.

His chuckle vibrated against me, and he snaked his hand around my waist and the other behind my neck, combing it through my hair. His hands felt so good there; like they belonged. I smiled to myself knowing they really did.

He guided my head to look up at him. "Can I kiss you, Nessie?" He asked me. His eyes darkened, his breath was hot and sweet against my face.

I nodded, and parted my lips. With a whisper I begged, "Please." He moved in slowly, so slowly that the tension in my stomach rose with every passing moment. I tried to control my panting, but I couldn't relax. This was real. This wasn't another dream that I would wake up from.

He closed the gap between our mouths, and so softly brushed his lips against mine. Heat exploded inside of me, my body felt like it was on fire in the best possible way. My lips tingled against his, and my body burned with lust. The moment I've thought about endlessly was happening. Our kissing grew passionate, and a sigh escaped my mouth when Jacobs tongue traced my bottom lip. His chest rumbled with a deep growl as he held my body tighter against his.

Tentatively I opened my mouth, welcoming his warm tongue with mine. Caressing each other, but soon fighting for dominance. I lightly bit down on his lip and he let out another growl. Hearing his animalistic side caused desire to run through me. My hands snaked around his neck and weaved themselves into his hair. He lifted me off the ground, pulling me into him as close as he could. They were soft and warm, just like I had always imagined. He pulled away gently, and stared into my eyes. They were hazy and dark, like so many times before, and I understood why. He had felt the same, he had always felt the same.

"Will you?" He questioned, his voice breathy and hoarse from our kiss.

I furrowed my brows, and pressed my nose against his. "Will I what?"

"Kwop Kilawtley; stay with me forever, Nessie."

I smiled so big, and pulled his mouth back to mine. I let my legs wrap around his waist and lifted myself up, my face above his now, giving me the advantage.

He groaned and kissed me deeper, snaking his hand through my hair and the other around my hips.

Our lips moved together softly, but with intensity. We had been waiting to do this.

We pulled away, both needing to breath. We smiled at the same time and I nuzzled myself into his neck, letting my hair fall all around us. This was definitely not what I imagined it to feel like. This was better.

"I was always planning to, Jake."

He kissed the bare skin that peaked out from my turtleneck, and lowered me back to the ground.

"Walk with me, Nessie." He commanded, the Alpha in his voice coming out unintentionally.

I nodded with a shiver, not caring to ask why. I would go anywhere with Jacob, to the ends of the Earth if he asked me to.

We walked for awhile, until I could smell his house. I looked up at him with confusion, "Why here?"

"I have some things for you, here." He replied. It felt so right to walk with him like this. It reminded me of when his arms were wrapped around me the first time we met – but it's so much better now.

I sighed and held on to his arm tighter, "Jacob, I don't need anything – you gave me what I wanted."

He laughed once, "Just trust me, okay?"

I nodded and continued on with him. We walked up the gravel driveway and towards the stairs. "Give me a second." He told me hastily, darting up the stairs and inside. He was back in minutes, fully dressed in dark jeans and his usual black long sleeved shirt. His hands were behind his back, and my favorite easy-going grin was spread across his face.

I looked at him suspiciously, "Have you been planning this?"

"Well, yes. But – last night threw a kink in my plans." He joked, winking at me. He pulled his hands out and in them was a large bouquet of my favorites; pink peonies.

I took them from his hands quickly and clutched them, "You remembered?"

"I would never forget."

Jacob and I had spent a lot of our time talking, and during one of our conversations he asked me a simple question. 'What is your favorite flower?' Something I didn't think twice about then, but now meant so much more.

I inhaled, and smiled bigger. Reaching up on my tip toes I pecked his cheek, but he turned his head and caught my lips with his. I grinned and pulled back.

"Jacob, I still feel like this isn't happening. Is this real?"

He chuckled and wrapped his arm around my waist and led me through the doors. "I promise, it's real."

He was so romantic. Jacob was thoughtful, charming – and mine. He was my Jacob.

I felt the happiness well up inside me, real and authentic. The last 24 hours had been a rollercoaster, but it was worth it.

All the lights were off in the house, but set up all around on the floors, tables, stairs and shelves were hundreds of tiny candles.

I gasped, this was something out of a movie. There was no way.

"Jake . . ."

He smiled and kissed the top of my head. I pulled away from him, noticing a small envelope on the stairs. I looked back at him, "What is that?"

"Open it." He commanded gently, I didn't hesitate to listen. I furrowed my brows as I picked up the envelope sitting neatly on the stairs.

I opened it and tucked away was a small note. My eyes met his momentarily, he smiled and nodded.

I looked down, opening the note and gasped. It was a letter, from Jacob, to his mother.

_Dear Mom,_

_I met her, Mom. Just like you told me I would when I was a little kid. You would tell me, 'One day, Jacob, you will meet her. You will love her, and cherish her just like your father does with me. You will look at her likes she's the stars in your sky and the oxygen you breathe.'. I didn't believe you then, but I do now. Her name is Renesmee, and she's beautiful; an angel on Earth. Her laugh is like wind chimes. I would do anything to get her to laugh, just to hear the sound. When she smiles at me, my body electrifies.. It's the most amazing warmth. It's so hard to be around her without feeling like I'm floating. She's intoxicating. Is this what you meant, Mom? I wish you could see her eyes. How they light up when she's talking about her studies, or anything she cares about really. Her beautiful, chocolate brown eyes. They're my favorite. She looks at me and I know I would do anything for her. Her hair is my second favorite, is that crazy? It's so wild. It's long, untamed – curly as hell. And the color...its like copper reflecting in the sun. She tells me stories that you would never believe, but they're true and all about her life. She's a miracle, and I can't wait until she's mine. I want to introduce her to dad, I know he'd adore her. Shes so kind, and selfless. She cares about the environment, helping people – and her taste in music is insane. I never thought I would meet the girl that was made for me, but I have and all that waiting was worth it. I want to tell her how I feel, Mom. I want to wrap her up in my arms and never let go. I want to love her with every fiber of my being. I want to protect her. I want to make her happy. I wish you were here; I wish you could meet her. You would love her._

_Jacob_

I let my arm drop to my side, the letter hung from my finger tips.

"Jacob . . ."

"You asked me once how I dealt with losing her. Well - I wrote to her. I wrote until my thoughts made sense. When I met you, the first thing I wanted to do was tell her. I thought you deserved to know."

I jumped at him, nearly tackling him if he wasn't so strong. He grabbed me by the waist and lifted me higher above him, bringing me down crashing against his lips. I wrapped my arms around his neck, the flowers and letter still dangling from my fingers. Our lips danced against each other with a slight urgency, teeth scraping and tongues teasing.

I pulled away from him, breathless. I stared into his dark eyes, feeling the knots in my stomach rise. "You're very romantic, Jacob."

His face turned pink, and he lowered his mouth to kiss my jaw. "I just want to show you that I can make you happy, Ness." He set me down slowly, maintaining eye contact the whole way.

He was seriously going to set my soul on fire with those eyes.

"You're doing exceptionally well, and this is only hour one." I teased, and turned back around. I inhaled and could smell food.

Jacob noted my confused expression, "I uh - made you lunch." He mumbled. I glanced at him and his cheeks were pink. "I'm not the best cook . . . but I tried."

My heart swelled, and I swore - it nearly burst.

I took his hand and tried not to skip to the living room, but how could I be expected to not be giddy?

I gasped when I saw it. A large blanket was spread out in front of the crackling fireplace, two empty wine glasses sat next to two covered plates of food. Bigger candles were set up between plates, and a single red rose in a small vase and two wrapped presents were set to the side of everything else.

I turned towards him and stood on my tip toes, reaching up to caress his face. "Jake . . . you did all of this?"

He swallowed, "Would have been real bad if you rejected me, huh?" He joked and avoided my eyes, trying to relieve his obvious nervousness.

I smiled at him tenderly. "You are so much more than I deserve."

His eyes darted to mine, and gripped my waist tightly. "Nessie, you deserve the world. I want to give it to you."

I pulled his face down towards mine and kissed him deeply. A single, open mouthed kiss. I opened my connection to him, showing him all my feelings of love, gratitude and pure happiness. We pulled away from each other and shared matching grins.

"Are you hungry?" He asked, bringing us out of our entrancing moment.

I nodded and let him lead me over to the blanket. My face heated up as we both sat down and I dipped my head trying to shield him from seeing my blush. I realized, this was starting to appear to be my first date.

"You don't have to hide from me." He coaxed, lifting my chin with his thumb and forefinger.

My blushed deepened, "It's just - this is sort of . . . my first date. If this is a date!" I rushed out, hesitantly meeting his dark eyes with my own.

He gave me an easy smile, "Yeah, Ness. That was my intention."

My face felt like it could light a match, it was so hot. "Jacob - you make me so . . . nervous. But, in a good way."

He smirked at my comment, and dropped his hands to the lids on the plates. Waggling his eyebrows, he lifted the lids. "I present your favorite meal; rare steak and potatoes."

I snorted and shook my head while covering my face with my hands. "Thank you, Jake. Seriously - this is so sweet."

He grinned and his eyes flashed over to what appeared to be a bottle of . . . wine?

I had never drank a day in my short life, and wasn't expecting to today. I did find it hard to believe Jacob would bring wine, he didn't seem like the type.

"It's just sparkling cider, Ness. Edward would kill me." He joked, albeit not far from the truth at all.

My mouth formed a small 'o'. "Oh, okay. I mean - I wouldn't have minded if it wasn't."

Jacob raised an eyebrow and poured me cider. "Have you had alcohol before?"

I shook my head vigorously, "No! No - of course not. I just - um - well . . . I always wanted to. I guess." I hesitantly admitted.

He nodded slowly and shrugged while cutting nto his food. "It's not really all that great. But, I can't get drunk so I guess its a moot point."

"Why?"

He laughed, "I'm guessing you'd have the same issue as I do. We run hot. So, come on my brainy girl. What do you think happens?" He teased me.

My mind was caught on the fact Jacob called me his brainy girl. I know it was supposed to be a joke, but it felt endearing. It was a sign of possession, and I liked that idea very much.

"I never thought about body heat when it came to alcohol." I contended. "So, you're right. Moot point."

We happily ate our lunch in silence, stealing glances at each other whenever we could. It was everything I ever dreamed of and more. Jacob and I - destined through ancient tribal magic. Soul mates. It was insane to consider, but I welcomed it with open arms. All that mattered was that I had Jacob.

Jacob finished before I did, but I was not surprised. That wolf could eat 10 portions and still be hungry.

"D'ya want to open your gifts?" Jacob asked hesitantly.

I smiled and pushed my finished plate away, "I would love to."

He handed the longer wrapped present to me first, and I opened it slowly. It was a long, velvet box. I raised my eyes to meet his, then opened the box. Inside was a pair of sleek, black drumsticks.

"Wow." I said to myself and picked them up, looking them over and feeling the tips of them. "These are great, my old ones were getting worn out." I beamed softly. "You really do notice everything."

He grinned charismatically, and handed me the other wrapped box.

It felt heavy in my hands, and I could smell oak wood. I looked at him quizzically and tore the paper off. Underneath was a wooden slab with intricate carvings. Taking off all the wrapping paper I examined it closely. Slowly I recognized what it was.

Astounded, I asked "Jacob, did you do this?"

His eyes were wide as he looked back and forth between the wooden carving and my face. "Do you like it?"

I loved it. It was the most amazing, thoughtful gift I had ever received. Jacob was crafty, clearly. First making my bracelet - and now this? The wooden carving was detailed, and depicted a girl with long hair riding the back of a giant wolf. Each line of fur, the shape of the girls face and the wolves eyes all were carved out perfect and neatly. "This is amazing, Jake. I had no idea you could do this."

He blushed, his russet skin turning pink quicker than I've ever seen. "Its from that tree you pointed out to me a few weeks ago."

My eyes widened bigger and I clutched the wooden art against my chest. "I don't know how you do it."

"Do what?" He questioned innocently.

I reached out and touched his face. "Make me happier every minute."

He smiled, his cheek moving against my hand. He took it with both of his and laid an open mouthed kiss on my palm, the sensation making me shiver. I had him, my Jacob. And, we never would have to be apart.


	12. Cullen Crest and Christmas Plans

**A/N:** Originally, this chapter was 7,000 words. A bit much. So, I'm breaking it up into two chapters. Wheeew!

* * *

Chapter Twelve – Cullen Crest and Christmas Plans

* * *

_it's always on a night like tonight  
i think that you can read my mind  
'cause when you look at me with those eyes  
I'm speechless_

_-dan + shay, speechless_

_oOoOo_

I intertwined my fingers with Jacob as we began to walk towards my house. I could hear the hushed voices inside and rolled my eyes. "Was today also meant as a distraction?" I looked up to Jacob with a questioning glance.

He chuckled and shrugged, "Trust the process, _baby_." Jacob's voice lowered when he said that, and my heart leapt. It might have been meant as a tease but it still made me sweat. I blushed and pecked his bicep and put my hand on the door knob.

"Wait." He flirted, pulling my face up towards his. He kissed me deeply, his hands weaved behind my head and through my hair. I sighed into his mouth and parted my lips, letting my tongue trace his bottom one. I felt his lips twitch in a smile, before kissing me once more and pulling away. "I didn't know when I would be able to do that again."

I grinned and buried my head into his chest, knowing full well my father was probably doing his angry bridge-pinching-nose-breathing sounds right now.

"Alice is making me put this on you." Jacob whispered in my ear, and placed a black fabric over my eyes and tying it behind my head.

I sighed, "Is this necessary? I can close my eyes . . ."

"Completely necessary!" Alice chirped. I let out a quick yelp from being startled, and turned towards the sound of her voice.

"Sorry, Renesmee. Come on, you have to get changed!" I felt myself being pulled out of Jacob's grasp, our fingertips held on to each other as long as possible.

"Don't go anywhere!" I called behind me, and heard him chuckle.

"I wouldn't dream of it."

I was pulled inside, and I could smell my family. I sniffed again, picking up the scent of humans?

"Renesmee, stop that." Alice chided, and I felt myself get picked up. I snorted, knowing how silly it must have looked to see tiny Alice carry me like an infant.

I felt us ascend the stairs, and soon I was set down in a chair. The blindfold was taken off and I blinked rapidly, adjusting to the bright bathroom lights.

"Makeup, too?" I whined, pulling on my curls nervously. I stared at her through the reflection of the mirror, her golden eyes sparkled with mischief.

"Of course, don't be silly. It's your birthday!"

I grumbled and crossed my arms, closing my eyes knowing Alice's routine. She got to work quickly, and almost as soon as she started she was already done. I opened my eyes to see myself fully transformed, all of my features enhanced neatly with makeup. Nothing was overdone, and it suited me perfectly. Thin brown eyeliner winged out from my lash line, pretty mauve and tan shadow blended over my eyelids and perfectly done eyebrows. My cheeks were carved out with bronzer, and enhanced with a shimmering highlight. My lips remained somewhat bare, besides a fruity tasting tinted lip gloss.

"It looks amazing, Alice. Thank you." I murmured, touching my cheek gently and turning my head side to side to examine her work.

She giggled and spun me around, just in time to see Rosalie glide in.

"My turn." She softly said, coming up to me and fluffing my hair around. She grabbed a brush from the vanity, and brushed it out softly. Layer by layer, it was perfectly smoothed and soft. She grabbed a flat iron but I quickly stopped her from using it.

"No!" I exclaimed. She raised and eyebrow, causing me to blush at my outburst. "I mean – no, thank you. Jacob – Jacob likes it like this."

She scoffed, "Honey –"

I shook my head, knowing she was already going to comment that I liked my hair straight. "I do too, Aunt Rose. But, please. Can it stay curly?"

She smiled gently and set the iron down. "Okay, Renesmee. It's your birthday. I'll do something else."

I felt her hands tug at the top of my head, separating the top half of my hair from my bottom. She worked delicately, and slowly for a vampire. I felt her twist it, and she secured it with a few pins.

She stepped back and crossed her arms, rubbing her hands against them like she was soothing herself.

"I can't believe you're grown up already." She whispered, her golden eyes looked sad and distant.

I reached out and grabbed one of her hands, and kissed the top of it. "Aunt Rose, don't be sad. I promise, you'll never lose me."

Her sadness faded and she gave me her brightest smile, turning me around to face the mirror.

My hair was perfect, and just the way I liked. Half up, pulled out of my face made up with a neat little bun, my copper curls cascaded around my shoulders and back.

"Thank you, both." I praised, and pulled myself out of the chair. "Okay, Alice. I know you have a dress for me – let me see it."

She squealed and dashed out of the room, returning in seconds with a black silk slip dress with spaghetti straps and lace edges.

I eyed it cautiously, and my Aunt rolled her eyes. "Trust me."

I sighed and took the dress, motioning for them to turn around. I slipped out of my clothing quickly, standing in nothing besides my underwear. I pulled the dress on gently, adjusting my breasts in the thin fabric. It hugged me tightly all over, but still gave me room to move. It came to just above my knees, and the neckline dipped slightly between my cleavage. I turned in the mirror, checking myself out and smiled smugly. I looked . . . hot. Jacob was going to go crazy, I knew it.

"It's really nice, Alice." I concluded, they both turned and gasped.

"Renesmee!" My Aunt Alice chimed, a grin plastered on her face. She gripped Rose's shoulder.

"Oh, honey." Aunt Rose cooed.

I gave them both a nervous twirl, "I already know you have some monstrous heels for me, let me get them on." I joked, motioning my hand for her to hand them over.

Alice cackled and pulled out thick heeled black black boots from a box. My jaw dropped in disbelief. Alice not making me wear uncomfortable shoes was the plot twist of the century.

I clapped happily and pulled them on, jumping to hug her. "Oh, it's perfect!"

She rolled her eyes, "One more thing, okay?"

I nodded enthusiastically and turned to face the mirror. Alice pulled something out of a black jewelry box behind my back, and slipped it around my neck carefully. It was a thick, black choker that tied behind my neck with our family crest on it.

I gasped, and my hands went to finger it delicately. "Alice . . . "

"It was Edward." She cut me off, smiling softly at me through the mirror. "We wanted to do a silver necklace, but he knows you. He thought this suited you much more."

I nodded, and turned to hug them both, tears spilling over my eyes. "Today has been the best day of my life, so far." I gushed, careful not to cry too hard and mess up Alice's makeup job.

"No crying! You'll smudge my work!" She demurred playfully, kissing my cheek and stepping away. Rose caressed my face and turned and left the bathroom with Alice.

Just as they disappeared, there was a knock on the door. "Nessie, you ready? I've been instructed by the small one to bring you down." Jacob informed me with a chuckle.

I smugly grinned and pulled open the door. Jacob had one hand braced above him on the door frame. His eyes widened as he took in my appearance, and slowly racked over my body. His mouth parted and I heard a low growl in his throat.

"Damn, Ness." He choked out, and rubbed his jaw. "You look . . . wow. You look amazing."

I smirked and placed a hand on my hip and jutted a leg out, pulling up my dress a bit to reveal more skin. "Really?"

His eyes darted down to my thigh, and then right back up to mine. They darkened and he stepped forward, his arms gripped my waist and he pulled me against him.

"You're trouble." He growled in my ear, and nipped on the lobe.

My eyes nearly rolled to the back of my head, "Okay, Jake. We have to go downstairs – I can already hear my dad." I urged softly. He snickered and nodded against my cheek, pulling away and taking my hand in his.

"You have to close your eyes, can you manage stairs blind?" He teased, and pulled me towards the stairway. I nodded and let him lead me, closing my eyes as we began to descend.

"Come on." He gently coaxed, and pulled me down the last stair. Grabbing his hand in one and puling my other away from my eyes, I was greeted with a flurry of familiar faces. "Surprise!" They all shouted in unison, and confetti was shot in the air curtesy of Uncle Emmett. My eyes trailed the room quickly, taking in my whole family, our cousins from Denali, Nahuel, and Seth. I smiled at each of them and jumped when I felt a human hand on my shoulder. I turned my head and there stood my Grandpa Charlie.

"Grandpa!" I shouted, and pulled him into a tight embrace.

"Jeesh, kid. They said you were grown up but I surely didn't expect this." He began with a nervous chuckle. "I've missed you, peanut. Happy Birthday."

I pulled away and smiled brightly at him. "Thank you for coming, I'm sorry I haven't visited – it's – "

He held his hands up to gesture me to stop, "On a need to know basis, I got it."

My eyes fell past him to a beautiful older woman, who had a complexion similar to Jacob and Seth's. It clicked in my mind immediately. "Sue." I breathed, and extended a hand. "I have heard so much about you from Seth. It's good to meet you."

Her eyes widened, but then she quickly smiled and pulled me into an embrace. "So good to meet you. Happy Birthday."

I beamed at them and kissed my grandpa's cheek before running over to Nahuel. He picked me up and spun me around, hugging me tightly.

"Happiest of birthdays, May." He announced, setting me down and ruffling my hair. "Huilen sends her wishes, but could not make the journey."

I nodded and grasped his hands, "So much has changed since we have last seen each other." My eyes flashed to Jacob, who was obviously very tense. I opened my connection to Nahuel and showed him my memory of Jacob and I being together, as a couple.

Nahuel flashed me a smile and brought my hands to his chest. "True love finds you when you most certainly need it."

I felt Jacob walk up behind me and place a tender, but possessive hand on my shoulder. I could hear my fathers hiss from across the room, and smiled to myself. "Jacob, it's good to meet you. Renesmee is an extraordinary woman, but I'm sure you know this." They shook hands, and eyed each other suspiciously.

I snorted to myself and stepped away from between them. Running into my cousin's arms, I gave them all quick kisses on the cheeks. "Tanya, Kate, Eleazar, Carmen, Irina, Garrett – thank you for coming. I have missed all of you."

Carmen held onto my hands, "You have grown to be elegant and very beautiful. May this life of eternity bring you all the best adventures, it has been such an honor to watch you grow sweet Renesmee."

I smiled and showed her my gratitude through my palms and pulled away, and went to my parents. I gave them quick hugs and kisses.

"Dad, thank you for the crest. It's beautiful." I murmured, touching it gently with my fingers.

He gave me his crooked smile and nodded, taking both of my hands. "It suits you well, forever a Cullen."

I heard Jacob snort behind me, and I shot him a teasing glare. I knew why he did that.

"You look so beautiful. I can't believe its gone by so fast. You're our wonderful miracle, Renesmee." My mother said tenderly, pulling me into another quick hug and kissing my forehead. I pulled away and made my way down the line of my family, hugging, kissing and thanking them all.

Alice was last and she stood there beaming, in true Alice fashion. "Thank you, Alice. It's beautiful and so much more than I need." I said, while gesturing to the lavish rose gold party decorations. Balloons and streamers all around – a bit corny for Alice, but I knew she was trying to tie my true age to my assumed age into one celebration. It's pretty rare to turn seven but look to be about twenty-one.

She grinned at me and pulled me into a tight hug. "Oh, Renesmee. I love you so much, happy birthday!"

I kissed her cheek and ran back to Jacob, who picked me up and spun me tightly against him. I squealed in delight, and opened my connection to him. I let him see how happy I was in this moment, and how very thankful and loved I felt.

"You are very loved, Renesmee." My father said softly behind us. I turned and placed my hand on his cheek, sending him all the love I could muster. My mother held onto his arm tightly, and gave me the look I knew so well from past birthdays. If she could cry, she would be.

I met the eyes of all my family and friends, "Thank you everyone for being here, and coming to celebrate with my family. It means the world. Now, I think its time for some party music!"

Just as I said that, I heard music cut on from outside in our backyard, I looked to my Aunt Alice. She winked and nodded to the back door.

I pulled Jacob with me and bounded towards the door, pushing it open to reveal twinkling lights all over the trees. The yard had been cleared for a make-shift dance floor, and I noticed a few speakers on the porch. There was a table with snacks, obviously for the humans and werewolves of the party and one small cake. It had a single candle in it, a running joke in my family for all of my birthdays. They never knew the amount of candles to give me - so we always opted for just one.

"She knows me so well." I chuckled, tugging Jacob down the stairs and under all the lights. His hands snaked around me, squeezing my sides before placing them on the small of my back.

"You love this song." Jacob noted with a wink. It was true, I had a serious love for Radiohead.

"'Bodysnatchers' is a really good song." I replied with a shrug, dancing to the beat with Jacob. It was a faster song, but we kept pace perfectly. Our bodies moving together like magnets. Jacob twirled me, and then brought me back against him. I grinned and squeezed his arms. "Jacob Black, you can dance."

He threw his head back and laughed, "Only for you."

We danced for awhile, the rest of the world fell away and all I saw was him. We couldn't look away from one another, and we definitely couldn't let go. We moved in comfortable silence most of the time, telling each other small jokes here and there.

"I think I need to get some food before Seth eats all of it." Jacob grumbled, gesturing to the food table with a nod. I laughed and turned to see Seth shoving chips and mini sandwiches in his mouth. He met my gaze mid bite and grinned, his mouthful of food moving to his cheeks.

"Ew." I muttered under my breath, and let Jacob lead me over to the table. I broke away from him, and walked over to my human grandfather and Sue.

He smiled at me from where he was sitting, and gestured for me to sit.

"So - uh - you and Jacob? Isn't he a bit . . . old for you, kiddo?" My grandpa brought up. I looked to Sue who covered her smile with her hands.

I blushed and shook my head, "It's different with Jacob."

He grumbled, "Another 'need to know' thing?"

Sue surprised me when she spoke up, "Jacob has imprinted on Renesmee, Charlie. It's apart of his wolf heritage, a true blessing from our ancestors."

Charlie looked over at her, scratching his grey mustache and shrugged. "Well," He drawled. "Alrighty, then. If you're happy, kiddo."

I smiled and grabbed his hand tenderly. "I am. How are you, how has your police work been?"

He gave me a small smile, "It's been alright, nothing out of the usual. Forks is a quiet town."

I nodded, "I really would love to visit, if you'd ever have me." I inquired. Really, I wanted to see Jacob's home but I knew it would be nice to visit my birthplace as well.

Grandpa Charlie's eyes lit up, "You can stay with this old man anytime! Whenever you want, for however long you want."

I felt my mother walk up behind me. "Having fun, dad?" She questioned simply, placing her hands lovingly on my shoulders. As if she wasn't interjecting because I asked him to visit, a rule I just broke that my parents made a long time ago; we do not visit Forks.

"Renesmee just said she wanted to visit, how 'bout that Bells?" He asked, his face still lit up in joy.

I turned and looked up to see her expression. She raised an eyebrow at me. I placed my hand on top of hers, opening my connection.

_No one would know who I was, it'll be safe. You and dad can come too, we'll be careful. You don't have to worry. It's been seven years, I'm sure no one would notice since I'm grown up. I would love to go, and I could see where Jake is from._

She sighed, "Does Jacob know about this?"

_Not yet, I wanted it to be a __surprise. For Christmas._

My grandfather looked back and forth between us in confusion, obviously picking up on our silent conversation.

"Need to know." He said under his breath. My mother and I laughed to each other.

"Okay. We'll come. How about Christmas, dad? Is that doable?" My mom wondered, looking into my grandfathers brown eyes. I was shocked, my mom never made decisions without confiding in dad first.

Grandpa stood up, "Of course, Bella. I can't wait for you to visit home."

Jacob walked over with a plate full of food just as we finalized our plans. I had wanted this to be a surprise, but I had a feeling he was already aware of our plans. With his damn werewolves hearing, that is.

"Christmas in Forks, huh?" He asked, specifically looking at me.

I sucked in my lips and then gave him a mischievous smile, "And LaPush."

He raised his eyebrows and looked at Sue, dipping down to whisper in her ear. "Does that violate the treaty?" He looked anxious when he stood back up, and his eyes flashed back to mine.

"Jacob?" I called out, standing to face him.

My mother pulled me back, "Dad, why don't you dance with Renesmee." She grabbed his hand and pulled him out of his chair, dragging both of us away from Jacob and Sue who were whispering back and forth. Jacob looked irritated, and I couldn't figure out why.

My Grandfather and I danced for a single song, and I watched as Jacob, Sue, Seth, my parents and Grandpa Carlisle walked into the house.

"Don't worry, kiddo. I'm sure Jake's just nervous about bringing ya home." He teased, trying to lighten my obvious tension.

What could they be talking about, that they couldn't include me?


	13. Don't Piss Off Alpha Jake

**A/N:** Okay, here's the second half. Thanks for reading and reviewing - and to respond to DxGRAYxMAN: TECHNICALLY, in my eyes, since Renesmee is still a Cullen - half-human or not - she's still half-vampire, and it violates the Cullen treaty. Muaha . . . but theres a solution to that, of course. ;) I wanted to play around with the wolfy side of Jacob's character, and definitely had fun writing this chapter. An Alpha is an Alpha *shrugs*

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Chapter Thirteen: Don't Piss off Alpha Jake

_you've applied the pressure_  
_to have me crystallized_  
_and you've got the faith_  
_that I could bring paradise_

_-the xx, crystallized_

_oOoOo_

_Why does everyone feel the need to exclude me? I'm not a little girl who has to be shielded all the time!_ I thought angrily to myself, and noticed I was gripping onto my grandfather rather intensely.

I huffed, "Excuse me, Grandpa. I'm sorry." I announced, pulling away mid song and darting up the stairs. He shot me a puzzled look, but I brushed it off. I paused before opening the door, and listened in.

"She's half-human, and my _imprint_. You think because the council, or Sam will be threatened by her that she can't come to the Rez? She's around humans all day long, five days a week, Sue!" I heard Jacob shout from the living room. "Nessie wouldn't hurt anyone. I am the tribe's chief, according to my birth-given-right, she's going to be my wife someday! _What I say,_ _goes_." Jacob's Alpha voice was strong, and I could feel it vibrate off the walls. It made my knees weak. I pushed the door open, and stormed through the kitchen and into the living room where they all stood. Jacob was standing tall, in front of Sue with Seth next to her.

"Jake - relax. Dude, it'll be fine, okay? I'm sure Nessie can come. Ma's just being cautious, and letting you know it technically does violate the treaty. She's still a Cullen." Seth pleaded gently.

Jacob growled, "It's not okay, they cannot deny her or reject her. She's mine, she won't be a Cullen for long and she goes where I go." Jacob commanded, his fists clutching the back of the love seat.

"Watch it." My dad hissed. He eyed me, and his angry demeaner changed.

"I understand, Jacob. This is just something that I have to discuss with them - and something you should discuss with Sam. It's been a very long time since you've been home." Sue reminded him gently.

They had to be aware I was in the room, but no one acknowledged me; except my father.

"I'll come back, and Nessie will come with me. They can see for themselves." He responded authoritatively.

"Jacob." I called to him softly. His stance softened, and he turned towards me.

"Nessie."

I reached out towards him and he was in front of me in an instant. I placed my hand on his cheek.

_Wife?_

His face turned bright red, and my father hissed again.

_I would marry you in a heartbeat, Jacob._

"Absolutely not, this already needs to slow the hell down." My father condemmed, pulling me away from Jacobs arms. I yanked myself out of his cold grip.

"I can do what I want!" I snarled at him, retreating to Jacob's side.

My mom touched my fathers back. "Edward -"

"No, Bella." My father snapped at her, something I've never seen him do before. "I've tried so hard to stand back. He shows up, and then thinks he has a wolf claim on her and suddenly she believes she's going to marry him after knowing him less than a month. No. Especially not when he used to be _in love_ with you. Not when he forced himself on you!"

I drew in a sharp breath hearing those words shoot out of my fathers mouth. Recalling the last time I heard those words, when he first admitted he used to be in love with my mother. I felt a stab in my chest at the new information. I thought they were just childhood friends and it didn't mean anything . . . was I some sick replacement for my vampire mother, someone he could never have? Had he lied about being young and naive? Had he been lying about the imprint? Had he been lying about . . . everything?

My father shot a panicked look to me. "Renesmee, forgive me. You are _not_ a replacement, Jacob was not lying. It wasn't my place to say that." He insisted softly, taking my hands in his cold ones.

Everything I had wanted, just got ripped away from me before I could truly enjoy it. I thought I had found what I was always missing. I yanked my hands from his and wrapped them around my chest. Goosebumps rippled across my flesh, I started feeling extremely exposed.

I stifled a sob and shot a pang look to my father, Jacob touched my shoulder but I flinched away. My mother tried to reach out too but suddenly everyones hands felt like poison and I thought I was going to die if they got near me.

"Don't touch me!" I screamed, and backed away from them. I met everyones eyes, and looked to Jacob last. He was distraught, obviously. I would be too if I lied about being soulmates with the daughter of a woman he used to love. I heard my father breathe in deeply.

_Probably regretting what you said now, huh dad?_

"Nessie - that was a long time ago. C'mon, we talked about this . . . " Jacob consoled, reaching towards me. As if he could read my mind too; funny.

I scoffed, and turned towards my parents. "You two; how could you let me feel this way, while you knew? You knew this and let me fucking fall for his bullshit regardless!"

"It wasn't bullshit!" Jacob boomed. "Renesmee, _look at me_." The Alpha in his voice seeped out, affecting me immediately. My eyes snapped to his, they were dark - but not in longing. This time, in anger.

The Alpha was mad . . . and I liked it. Alpha Jacob was making it hard to control my thoughts.

"Do not use that dog command on her." My father growled, and stepped towards Jacob. He was a few inches shorter than Jake, and even I was intimated for my father. Jacob did not seem like he was willing to deal with my dad's protectiveness.

"When were you going to tell me, Jacob? Ever? You gave me the half truth!" I pressed, knowing it would only make him angrier. I looked over my fathers shoulder, glaring hard at him. "Or were you just going to pretend to care about me? Do you actually have feelings for me?" I exploded dramatically, throwing my arms up in the air.

He began to shake lightly. "_Get out_, everyone." Jacob ordered, his voice scarily deep. His hands gripped the love seat, and his knuckles cracked under the pressure along with the wood.

_Dad, this is between Jacob and I. Please leave._ I thought, needing him out of the room before he heard anything else.

I watched as Seth pulled Sue away, back outside. My father slanted his eyes at Jacob and blurred out of the room with my mother and grandfather.

"Well, Jacob? What do you have to say?" I sneered, crossing my arms and staring at him pointedly. I wanted to see what he would do.

He dropped his head and rolled his neck, a shudder ran across his spine.

"You're really testing me right now, Renesmee." All traces of soft Jacob was gone; in his place was a raw and intense version.

"I'm testing _you_?" I scoffed. "Seriously?"

He looked back up at me, his eyes were black. I felt myself freeze, and heat flowed between my legs

God, why was this turning me on? This was seriously not the time. I felt all of my anger dissipate, and in its place was pure lust and attraction. I knew Jacob's feelings for me were real, there was no way they weren't. He said everything I felt, he mirrored. Everything he said, every action, every kiss, every touch today showed me that. Our chemistry and connection went deeper than anything he could have ever felt for my mother, if he even felt anything at all back then.

He inhaled and growled, standing up straight and stepping towards me. He was staring down at me with the same black eyes, making me squirm in my place.

I swallowed, and took a step back. Every step I took, he took one; backing me against the wall.

I put my hand against his chest, trying to push him away. He grabbed it roughly, and pinned it above my head, than the other.

"You think you can say those things, and then react like that?" He growled, lowering his mouth to my ear. "You think I can't _smell_ that?"

I swallowed the breath that got caught in my throat. Our complex relationship had changed in the span of minutes. All innocence was gone, because now it was out there. The sexual energy, tension and even the scent of longing was spoken in the air between us. He knew when I wanted him. He knew what this was doing to me.

"Is this turning you on? You think you can say that shit and get me rilled up, and then react that way when you see what it does to me?"

I stared at him hard, unable to move. I clenched my thighs together, but the heat just kept coming.

He inhaled and growled again "_Answer me_."

"Yes, Jacob." I whimpered.

I felt so hot and bothered in the best possible way. I had read about all sorts of relationships after I met Jacob; sexual and romantic. The different kinds humans partook in. I noticed I liked when Jacob was rough and dominant. What did that say about me?

He huffed and his lips went to my neck, laying open mouthed kisses along my skin and up my jaw.

"Did you want this to happen? Did you want me to bring out the Alpha? Because thats what it smells like." He warned, nipping at my neck. I sucked in a sharp breath and my hips twitched forward. He was on to me.

I felt my connection open from my palms placed on his biceps. Lust flooded forward, my enjoyment of being submissive, how much I loved him and loved how strong he felt against me. I wanted more still, I wanted to see how far he could go. I wanted to see the Alpha, _my_ Alpha.

I shuddered at my own thoughts, and before I could wonder what they would do to Jacob; he growled loudly. He let go of my left wrist to smack the wall and I jumped in response to the sound. "Renesmee." He snarled, dropping my other hand to grip my waist, lifting me up and pressing himself between my legs. I automatically parted them and wrapped them around his hips, my skirt hitching up under my bottom leaving me more exposed to Jacob than I had ever been. I whimpered, feeling the friction of his jeans against my inner thighs and most sensitive body part. "You will never doubt my feelings for you. You hear me? You are mine. I love you, Renesmee. Do you need me to show you? Because I'll fucking show you." His mouth was hot against my ear, his breath sending shivers down my spine.

"Jacob -"

"I'm still fucking talking." He snapped, and pushed my skirt up slightly to gain access to my thigh. "You wanted more? This is it. _Your_ Alpha is mad."

I let out a breathy moan, my body was seriously disobeying me tonight.

"You want to hear the full story? You know the important parts, but I'll remind you. I was sixteen, I had grown up with Bella. She was around when my mom died, and she was around when no one else was. I had mistaken friendship for feelings because I was a fucking kid. Your dad left, she leaned on me like I had leaned on her and it just happened. I didn't know any better. I didn't know what love was until I met you, do you understand? What I thought was love was wrong before you." He let out a ragged breath, and ran his nose along my collarbone. "I would fucking die without you; I wanted to die without you. I wish I had known sooner than I would eventually meet you, I would have done so much differently. It wouldn't have taken me so long to find you. But meeting you, and figuring out who you were - it made sense. It made sense why I wanted to be in Bella's life; because it would bring me you. The imprint is found through connections. She was just the connection, honey." His voice had softened now, but the Alpha was still clear as day.

He lifted his head to stare into my eyes, searching them longingly. "I was going to tell you everything, but you were so fucking happy earlier I didn't want to spoil it. I knew you'd get defensive. I knew you'd get fucking upset." He swore, dragging his lips across my cheeks and down my neck.

"I'm going to say this again, Renesmee. I love you. Only you. My feelings aren't bullshit. I didn't want to tell you this way, but I never pretended. I imprinted on you. I chose you. My soul, picked yours, over millions of others. I picked you to be _my_ mate, _my_ wife, the mother of _my_ children. Do you understand that? Can you _feel_ that?" He commanded, pressing himself between my thighs. I groaned when I felt him stiffen under me.

"You're going to tell me you understand, before I loose my fucking head. Okay?" He stated, his teeth pulling at the strap of my dress.

This version of Jacob was rough, and cursed - a lot. Who knew curse words could sound so sexy?

I nodded, thumping my head against the wall. My breathing was shallow, and all I could think about was how badly I wanted him.

"I said _tell me_."

I whimpered again, and closed my eyes tight before looking back into his. "I understand, Jacob. I do feel that, Jacob." I sighed, trying to control my breathing. "I'm sorry, my Jacob. Please forgive me."

He sighed and dropped his face into the hallow of my neck. "I love you, Nessie." His body relaxed, the tension gone instantly.

A single tear escaped my eye, and I snaked my fingers through his hair, forcefully bringing him up to look at me. "I love you, Jacob."

I felt all of my emotions bubble inside me, exploding out through my palms against his skull. Lust was at the forefront, followed by pure, unadulterated love.

"Why'd you have to make me tell you this way, huh?" He groaned, pressing himself harder against me. "I didn't want you to see me this way, I didn't want to tell you like that."

I moaned again, my hips twitching against him causing us both to hiss at the friction. "I liked it." I mumbled, bringing his lips against mine.

Our kissing was desperate, lips moving fast and uncoordinated against each other. I ground against him in response to our frantic kissing, eliciting a throaty moan from him. I slipped my tongue under his and nipped him, causing Jacob to grip my thigh tightly.

"Nessie, we have to stop. It's getting hard to - to control myself." He mumbled against my mouth, biting my lower lip and dipping his hand towards my inner thigh before snaking it back before he made contact.

I whimpered in protest, and lifted my hips towards his hand.

"Nessie . . ." He growled. "It's bad enough that I can _smell_ you, without adding your sounds and twitching."

I brought his mouth back to mine roughly. "Why does it have to be bad? You know what I want. I thought as my _imprint_ you had to give it to me."

How did we go from yelling at each other to this? Never mind that thought now, Jacob was so close I couldn't even think straight.

"You are so fucking sassy." He scolded, dropping his hand to right below my bottom. He squeezed that part of my thigh and set me down quickly. Stepping back and turning around. I pressed myself against the wall and let out a shaky breath. My legs felt like jello, and my body was hot _everywhere_.

"Damnit, Ness." He cursed again, turning back to me. His eyes were my favorite toffee color again, and full of remorse. "I'm so sorry I spoke to you like that. I - I have no excuse. I lost my cool. You - fuck. You doubted me and the wolf switch flipped. He said I had to prove it. I'm sorry, I've never had to check myself like that. I promise I won't let that happen again."

I dropped my head forward, then glanced back at him with guilt written all over my face. "I knew what I was doing."

He ran his hand through his hair, gripping his scalp and groaned out loud. "Were the questions real, though? Did you doubt me - at all?"

I swallowed, "I was upset, so yes - to an extent. But, Jacob. It's so hard to seriously be mad at you longer than a minute. I was mad and then - then I wanted you. Because I saw how you reacted to me, and . . . I liked it. I'm sorry, Jacob. I pushed you even when I wasn't upset anymore."

He let out a shaky laugh, "Fuck."

I fought a smile, Jacob had never cursed so much around me before and for some reason I liked it. "You swear a lot."

He shot an annoyed look at me, "I try not to around you, but that's out the window now."

I blinked, and pursed my lips. I wasn't understanding what he meant.

"I don't want you to think I'm some - fuck - I don't know. I've just been trying to be . . . behaved around you. Controlled." He sighed, and crossed his arms over his chest.

I furrowed my brows, "Wait - what? Were you trying to impress me with good behavior?" I joked, but my tone hinted at seriousness.

He blinked, and didn't say anything.

"Jacob, you don't have to pretend to be someone you're not to impress me." I assured, "I would love you regardless."

He groaned, "I wasn't pretending, Nessie. I just wanted to be the best version of myself for you. I wanted to be good, all the time. Because you are."

I laughed loudly, scoffing at his remark. "Jacob, I just provoked you because it turned me on. You think I'm good all the time?"

My boldness was new, but I believed he brought confidence out of me. I felt powerful, and divine.

His eye darkened again, "You've got to stop saying things like that."

I bit my lip, feeling even more confident. "What are you going to do, _Alpha_?" I teased, smirking to myself.

He crinkled his nose and curled his lip, before scrubbing his face with both his hands. "Alright, this - " He motioned between us, "has got to chill out. I told you, the imprint pull is intense. It's making us feel things really fucking fast. I want us to slow down; we need to slow down."

I glared at him, unhappy he was pressing the breaks. "What if I don't want slow."

"What if I do?" He murmured softly. My expression changed, and instantly I felt remorse. I had been pushing Jacob for more, and testing him without even regarding how he might feel. Wow, I felt incredibly selfish.

"Jacob, I'm sorry - I didn't mean to . . ." I began, but he crossed the space between us and pulled me into his arms before I could say anything else.

He kissed the top of my head, "Nessie, it's okay. I just want to do this right. We went from nothing to everything in hours, alright? It's just a lot. For both of us. I want us to enjoy this, and take our time. We have so much time."

I looked up at him, and touched his cheek. "We have forever, Jacob."

He smiled, and leaned into my palm "Exactly, Ness. We have forever - so let's just go . . . slow."

I nodded, "Slow."

"You know, you do have a party out there and if we don't want them to think we ran away we should go back."

My face flushed red, "Oh, God. Jacob - 90% of this party is made up of vampires. They probably heard everything!" I exclaimed in embarssment.

He shrugged and pulled back, taking one of my hands and kissing my palm. "So, what? I don't care. Let them hear. Then they'll know who you belong to." He winked and pulled me back towards the kitchen to head out the backdoor.

My face was still bright red when we resurfaced, and of course the one person I didn't want to run into - we ran straight into.

"Pretty intense in there, squirt." Uncle Emmett teased, waggling his eyebrows with a cheshire grin.

My blush intensified further.

"Zip it, Monkey man." Jacob warned, his lips curling in a smile.

Emmett laughed and smacked his shoulder. "Yeah, okay. Next time, I kick your ass." He told Jacob, his amusement dropping instantly.

I let out a small laugh when Jacob appeared alarmed, "I can handle him, Em. Thanks though." I winked and pulled Jacob down the stairs. I avoided all the golden gazes and dragged Jacob over to Seth.

"Hi." I whispered to him nervously. Seth shot a look to Jacob, and I felt him shrug behind me

He snorted, "What?"

I looked around, noticed everyone had gone back to their conversations.

I lifted myself to whisper in his ear. "Be honest. Did you hear everything?"

Seth choked on the soda he was drinking, and coughed a few times.

"I take that as a yes." I mumbled, turning and burying my face in Jacobs chest.

"S'okay, Ness." Jacob coaxed, pressing his lips to the crown of my head and running his hands over my hair that fell around my shoulders.

I shuddered under his touch and felt him laugh into my hair. I let my eyes drift around and spotted my father and mother, standing across the yard, engulfed in a very quiet, but obviously intense conversation.

"I have to go talk to them." I mumbled under my breath. I peaked up at Jacob and he nodded, letting me go.

I tried to be inconspicuous in my movements but I knew that was difficult when this was a party . . . for me. I also knew both of my parents would know I was coming over, but it didn't hurt to try and be nonchalant.

"Dad." I breathed, once I was standing in front of him. His golden eyes left my mothers face and landed on mine.

"Renesmee." He replied, with a strained tone.

I surprised myself by pulling him into a hug, but he needed this more than me.

"I'm sorry, dad. I know you're . . . scared. You won't lose me, but I've grown up. I did what mom did, I found my person. My singer." I mused, pulling back to stare into his golden eyes.

He pursed his lips, and gave me a sigh. He couldn't argue with me further when I mentioned that.

"I know. I truly am sorry, Renesmee. I never meant to hurt you, or put strain on your . . . new relationship with Jacob. It's been harder than I thought to accept that I'm not your number one anymore."

I furrowed my eyebrows, "Dad, just because I have Jacob doesn't change anything about my relationship with you. You're my dad, forever. You'll always be my hero." I teased, and opened my connection to show him the memories I cherished of him helping me over the years, teaching me everything he knew and all the times he showed me how much he loved me.

"I love you, Renesmee." He murmured.

"We both do." My mother chimed in, touching my cheek tenderly. "Now, go back to your party and enjoy yourself. Alice would have had a stroke by now if she could." She joked lightly, motioning me away.

I grinned at them, and gave them one last glance before turning away. Nahuel caught my eyes, and I skipped over to him.

"Trying to dance?" I questioned playfully at my old friend.

He smiled gently, and lifted himself off the ground. "I suppose it could be fun."

I tugged his sleeve and pulled him in the center of the yard. A Shakira song came on through the speakers and I laughed, knowing it was perfect timing for Nahuel.

"Let's salsa, _amiga."_

Nahuel grasped both of my hands and we moved our feet in mirror of one another, quickly stepping forward and then back.

I threw my head back with laughter as the song sped up and Nahuel twirled me out then back. "You have always been a great dancer, Renesmee." He breathed heavily, as if he was exhausted already.

I snorted and stepped forward, taking the lead now. "Recently, I find myself to be much more coordinated." I chimed back.

"So, this _man_." He gestured toward Jacob with a nod, and my eyes flashed over. Jacob did not look pleased.

I pulled back, then turned us before moving along with the beat again. "Yes?"

"He's not human, not vampire - not hybrid. I heard mention of wolf, forgive me for noticing. Dangerous, to be with a wolf?" Nahuel said, his accent hanging on the word 'wolf'.

Another fast song came on, and I huffed. I hadn't noticed how exhausted I was beginning to feel from all the events of today.

"He's no concern, and safe. He's not what you're thinking." I countered, feeling protective of Jacob.

Nahuel raised his eyebrows, "I meant no disrespect, _amiga_. You are protective, so I assume you are bound to one another. I just find it interesting, and most unexpected."

I slanted my eyes and gripped his hand tighter, "Unexpected?"

He nodded, dipping me now and bringing me back up before I could protest. "I had been waiting for you, but it seems I waited too long."

I pulled back and just as I did, Jacob's hand laid protectively on my shoulder. "I think this next dance is for me." He growled. Nahuel shot a pained look to me, but quickly composed himself before bowing and backing away.

Jacob spun me against him, and I let out a quick gasp. His grip was rough, and tight. Jacob had put distance between us, and lifted both of my hands above my chest, and began to dance in his place. I raised an eyebrow and mirrored his moves.

I gasped when I realized what he was doing. Jacob was starting a bachata.

I snorted, and kept up with him. "How do you know how to do this?" I laughed, struggling to keep up with him.

He smirked and brought me close to him, before sliding me across his body. "My mom loved to dance. She taught me a lot before she died."

I smiled in response, letting him lead me in the dance. We had grown more sensual in our movements as the song played out, getting closer, breathing heavier. It was so easy to forget the world when I was in Jacob's arms.

He kissed below my ear, and spun me away from him, then back towards him, with his chest against my shoulders. My hands were crossed, and laid on my hips with his on top. We stepped forward, then back, swaying side to side. I tried hard to resist the urge to grind myself against him along with our movements.

"Gotta keep this PG." He whispered in my ear, responding to my open thoughts. His hot breath made me shiver.

He spun me back so I was facing him again, and took both of my hands above my chest and rode out the rest of the song maintaining deep eye contact. He pulled me into him just as the song ended, and kissed me chastely. I heard a few murmurs but ignored them. Jacob was claiming me.

"Damn, right." He mumbled against my mouth, and pulled away to reveal a dazzling smile.

I was breathless, partly from our quick and intense dancing - but mostly because he simply had that effect on me.

"I need water." I laughed, and walked over to a table and grabbed a water bottle. I took a few deep gulps, and put the cap back on. Jacob followed me, and raised an eyebrow suspiciously.

"Did I, make the half-vampire_ tired_?" He teasingly hinted, a glint was in his eye and one of the biggest smiles I've ever seen from him.

I snorted, "Ha ha."

He touched my cheek tenderly, and took the water bottle from my hands. He brought it to his lips, and I watched closely as he swallowed. I squirmed in my place, why did Jacob drinking water make me twitch? Ugh. Everything he did was starting to turn me on. This was going to be trouble.


	14. The Look

**A/N:** Alright, here's a little fun chapter with a cliff hanger ending. Comment/review what you think will happen next :o

* * *

Chapter Fourteen: The Look

* * *

_she's a beautiful girl  
and everything around her is a silver pool of light  
the people who surround her feel the benefit of it  
it makes you calm  
she holds you captivated in her palm_

_-kt tunstall, suddenly I see_

oOoOo

My eyes flashed open to the sound of snapping bark outside my window. I sat up and looked around, my eyes glancing to the clock on my nightstand, reading it was 6:30 in the morning.

"Ugh." I groaned, realizing my bubble had burst and I had to attend school today. The rest of my party the night before went smoothly. Saying goodbye to our cousins was not nearly as difficult as it was to say goodbye to my human grandfather. I knew I would be seeing him in the next coming months, but the feeling of missing someone was a newer emotion considering I was so young when I first met him that I didn't recognize I had the ability to miss him. Nahuel was staying at the house with my family for a few days to see if I had any further growths or developments, but knowing that no longer excited me like it used to. Before Jacob.

I sat up and crawled over to the window that was above the foot of my bed. I lifted the blinds and peered outside, immediately seeing Nahuel swinging a rather large tree he had uprooted at Emmett.

"Oh, Jesus." I grumbled to myself. Emmett had to of put him up to this. I pushed the window open and shoved my head out into the cool air.

"Hey, dummies!" I yelled. "Can you play with trees later? Like, when I'm not sleeping?"

Nahuel dropped the tree and turned to face me. He grinned up at me from where he stood on the ground, and gave me a single wave. "Oh, good morning amiga!"

I rolled my eyes and popped back inside, shutting the window forcefully and flinging myself back onto my mattress.

"Back to reality." I heaved myself up, and stretched while shuffling my way to the bathroom. I did my usual morning routine, and felt refreshed after a much needed shower and hair brushing.

I took my new choker with our family crest and tied it behind my neck quickly, before padding out of the bathroom and towards my closet. I dressed in undergarments, but took my time picking them out. It wasn't like Jacob would actually be seeing them – but I still liked to pretend.

Cue dad's angry bridge-pinching-nose-breathing.

I smirked, it was nice being able to hear this well. I guess when you're used to hearing at half volume compared to everyone else around you, its nice to be apart of the majority.

I pulled on a pair of cropped washed black jeans that fringed out at the bottom, and an oversized white long sleeve t-shirt. I rolled the sleeves up past my wrists and slid on my watch.

"Renesmee!" I heard my mother call from downstairs, signaling I was running out of time. Damn half-human genes, no matter how much I rushed, they were always slowing me down in the morning. I blame the grogginess. I grabbed my shoes as I headed out of my bedroom and towards the stairs.

"Coming!" I shouted back, a habit I had gotten into even though I could very well whisper and she would have heard me. I pulled my hair up into a messy bun while I hastily descended the stairs, coming to a halt when I saw Jacob standing there with his hands shoved in his dress pants pockets.

_Fuck. Me_. I noted to myself, eyeing him hungrily. Cue one more _furious_ bridge-pinching-nose-breathing. I shot an awkward glance to my father, who was intentionally not looking at me. _Sorry, dad._

My attention flew back to Jacob as I took in his appearance for the day. He was wearing navy dress pants, that were rather tight in all the right places. Brown leather shoes, with a matching belt and a tight white collared shirt, buttoned at his wrists.

Why did he have to dress so damn good?

"You gonna stare or get in the car so we're not late?" He flirted, flashing me my favorite smile. He had his hair down, and it fell around his face just the way I liked it.

I blinked, and took my backpack from my mother's hands, and followed behind Jacob like a puppy on a leash.

"Bye, Renesmee." My mother called after me. I gave her a simple wave and walked out the door. It was the first time my family hadn't been around to say good-morning and whisk me off to school, but I had a feeling it was Jacob related. I could hear Rose complaining in my head about his 'stench'. I, clearly the only one who thought this, thought Jacob smelled amazing. So, I didn't really understand the whole 'dog smell'. Guess I could blame the whole 'mortal enemies' thing, huh?

"I didn't know you were picking me up." I commented, bounding after him towards the Rabbit. "Won't that . . . look weird?"

"You go to school with dopey. As far as they know, I'm just a teacher giving his brother and friend a ride." He winked at me, and pulled open the passenger door to let me in. I slid in and watched him intently as he shut it behind me.

I turned to see Seth sprawled across the back seat. "'Sup, Ness." He greeted, looking at me quickly before going back to reading a textbook. "Did you study for the test today, because I totally forgot." He continued, narrowing his eyes at the page in confusion.

I scoffed and turned back around, watching the moving road ahead of us. "Seth, I basically have a photographic memory and a doctorate; I don't _study_."

I looked in the rearview mirror to see Seth frowning. "I have a doctorate and I'm seven years old, I don't study." He mocked under his breath.

Jacob grabbed my hand and pulled it to his mouth, forcing me to bring my attention to him. "How did you sleep?" He asked me sweetly.

I blushed and pushed back a curl that fell from my bun, "Good, I missed you."

He grinned and pulled to a stop at a red light. He looked around, and then leaned over. His mouth hovered over mine, letting me taste his sweet breath. "C'mere. I missed you, too."

I gave him a small smile and closed the distance between our lips, bringing them together softly. It had been less than eight hours than I tasted his mouth and I missed it more than I could process. He kissed me back deeply, until there was a honk behind us. We both pulled away startled, and Jacob sat back to drive on.

"Could you two refrain from forcing me to see that, thanks." Seth announced snappily.

I shot him a teasing glare, and grabbed Jacobs hand. Intertwining them to try and soak up being with him for the last few minutes before putting on the façade of a platonic teacher-student relationship. My fantasies flared into my mind, but I shot those right back down. I had to behave.

"Yes, you do." Jacob confirmed my thoughts. "That means controlling those damn eyes of yours, too."

I furrowed my brows, and stared at him hard with wide eyes. "What does that mean?"

He shot me a quick look and fidgeted in his seat. "Those eyes, what you're doing right now."

I leaned over and looked at my reflection in his rearview mirror. I looked like I normally did.

"Nuh, uh. You always give me this _look_." He stated, and mimicked what was supposed to be what I did. His head was turned down a little, and he looked up at me. His toffee eyes wide, and hungry.

Oh.

"Yeah, _oh_."

I snickered, and dropped his hand to cover my face. "I didn't know I did that." I mumbled between my fingers.

"Sure, sure." He teased, and turned into the high schools parking lot.

He parked in the last row, reserved for teachers. I eyed the hundred of kids and faculty getting out of their own cars, and heading towards the schools front steps.

"Ugh." I groaned. I looked around and grabbed Jacobs hand for a second to open my connection to him.

_I love you._ I thought to him, and took my hand back. I grabbed my bag from the floor of my seat and pushed open the car door.

"Me too, Ness." He whispered as I stepped out onto the pavement.

Seth followed suit, and we left Jacob behind in the car. It hurt to walk away from him without looking back, but we had a whole year of this so I better get used to it.

"So, did you get any gifts after we left last night?" Seth asked me as he adjusted his bag on his back.

I chuckled, "No, I didn't want anything. I have everything I need."

"Uh, okay – well I still expect presents on _my _birthday."

I rolled my eyes as we trudged up the stairs, "Yeah, okay. Isn't it some weird right of passage to get alcohol as presents for your twenty-first? Because as if the same people haven't had alcohol before, since you're 'legal'?" I questioned with air quotes, flashing a crooked grin at him.

He snorted, and held the door open for me. "Uh – I can't get drunk, but it doesn't mean _I won't_ test the theory. For science, of course."

I scoffed and shoved his shoulder when we crossed into the hallway. "See you later, idiot."

We parted ways, and for some reason having a playful conversation like that made me feel somewhat normal, besides the obvious that I was in fact, not.

I watched the clock through all of my classes before seeing Jacob again. My skin itched to be close to him, even if it meant across a classroom. At least it would be in the same room. I could feel the pull to be with him, and tried hard to ignore it. I had to suffer through this for a year? How would I ever survive?

The bell rang, signaling it was time to switch classes and I packed my things quickly. Almost to Jacob.

Three minutes.

I tried to remain nonchalant as I hastily exited the classroom, and bee-lined to my locker.

I looked for him, but didn't see him in the hallway. I frowned while unlocking my locker, and swung it open. I checked my reflection in the small magnetic mirror, and applied some lip gloss.

"That's hot." I heard an unfamiliar male voice call from behind me. I grabbed my Spanish textbook, and shut the locker. I turned to the voice and raised my eyebrows to the mystery guy.

"Connor." I said lamely. Connor Rucker's, captain of the football team and my least favorite human at this school, after Allison Vito.

He placed his hand against the locker, and flipped his hair out of his eyes. "You look good, Carlie."

I blinked, somehow managing to forget all about my assumed human identity after twenty-four hours away from this place.

"Uh, thanks." I replied, and tried to step around him. He pushed off the locker and stood in front of me, blocking my path.

I was getting antsy, and irritated. He was keeping me from my Jacob.

"I have class." I snapped, and tried to step around him again.

He let out an obvious fake laugh, "Relax, babe. I was just wondering where you were yesterday during science, missed my lab partner." He winked, and tried to touch my hand. I pulled it back and scoffed.

"First of all, don't touch me. Second, none of your business."

He gave me that same fake laugh, making me physically cringe.

"You're too funny, Carls. Anyways, I'm thinking about homecoming and wanted to see if you were busy." He did another annoying hair flip.

God, I really detested human teenagers. So arrogant and annoying.

"Yeah . . . no." I took my opportunity and stepped around him, and spotted my Jacob staring at me with slanted eyes. His fists were balled, and turning white from the pressure. I shot him a smile and bounded towards his open door.

"Hi, Mr. Black. How're you?" I questioned innocently, trying not to give him 'the look' as he recalled earlier.

His posture relaxed and he gave me a lazy smile. "Hi, _Carlie_. I'm great." He struggled to say, his face was still tense. "Were you being bothered?"

I waved him off and entered the classroom, with him following behind just as the bell rang.

"Oh, no. I handled that."

This was going to be harder than I imagined. This innocent banter act was making me wish he could clear his desk with one hand and push me over it with another . . .

_Bad, Renesmee!_

I slid into my seat, and watched as Jacob adjusted his collar, undoing a button and eyeing me quickly.

"Alright, guys. We're um, doing some verb conjugation and pronunciation practices." He announced as he grabbed a stack of papers and handed a few to the first students in each row, coming to me last. He purposely brushed his fingers against mine while handing me the small stack, and I stifled the smile that wanted to spread across my face. I felt his eyes linger, before turning back and walking towards the chalkboard.

I held my breath, and waited for him to start the lesson. "Trabajo, trabajas, trabaja, trabajamos, trabajáis, trabajan." He recited, scrawling them out on the board just as quickly as he said them. "Who can tell me what these mean?"

He set the chalk down, and dusted off his hands. I watched as every girl in our classroom hastily raised her hand.

I snorted, and raised mine as well. I already knew he'd call on me.

"Jennifer." He said, and shot a glance at me, his lips tugging into a smirk.

I bit my lip and slit my eyes in her direction.

Jennifer? Ha. He wanted to play games.

"It means I work, you work, he works, we work, you both work, they both work." She chirped at him, batting her eyelashes.

I seriously might vomit. I knew my Jacob was attractive, but watching poor human girls throw themselves at him was painful to watch, and so cringe worthy.

"Good. Now, the key to understanding Spanish conjugation is to recognize that only in English we add a subject pronoun – whereas in the Spanish language, infinitive verbs don't have an extra word, only a specific ending. O, AS, A, AMOS, ÁIS, AN."

I bit on my pencil, and definitely was giving him 'the look' as he liked to put it.

I watched him fidget under my gaze, and smirked to myself. I can play too, Jake.

"On your worksheet is a list of the English translated verbs that I want you to all conjugate in Spanish, if you have any questions refer to your textbooks for guidance, or please ask me." He waved his hand at the room, and walked over to his desk. He cleared his throat lightly and sat down, turning towards his computer and fiddling with it.

I looked down at the sheet while rolling my eyes. I finished it in 30 seconds, then raised my hand. I crossed my legs, hoping to hide my scent better. Watching Jacob teach was harder now that I had him, than it was before when I longed for him.

He looked at me with a glance and raised his eyebrows. He lifted himself up and made his way over, and crouched down next to my desk. He leaned closer and deeply inhaled, I watched as his eyes darkened. Yeah, that's right. I know you smell me.

"Yes, Carlie?" He barely managed to choke out.

I bit my lip and looked at him under my lashes again, causing him to stiffen. "Mr. Black, can you check these for me?" I asked sweetly, leaning closer to his ear. He picked up my paper and stood up, walking swiftly back to his desk.

He looked it over with a glance and smiled, but picked up a pen anyways. I furrowed my brows, I knew I didn't get any wrong.

He wrote something, and stood back up. He walked over calmly, and set the paper down.

"Great job."

I looked down, and at the bottom of the page he wrote one word.

'_Trouble'_

I bit back my smile, and sat against my seat.

It took half the period for the rest of the class to finish, and I was growing bored. Humans are so slow.

"Alright, everyone is done? Good. Pass them forward. Now, I'm going to call on every one of you, and you repeat after me and then tell me what it means." He stated, and picked up the stack of papers we had passed up.

One by one, he called on every student. Until I was the last one.

"Tenemos amor. Carlie, what does this mean?"

I blushed, uncontrollably. Everyone stared at me hard, and jealousy flickered across the eyes of every girl in that room.

"La frase, tenemos amor, se traduce en ingles 'we have love'." I confidently stated, knowing my pronunciation and translation was perfect.

A wide grin spread across his face, but he quickly composed himself. He nodded, and turned to write our homework assignment on the board. "Alright, that's it for today. Tomorrow is teacher work day, so enjoy the long weekend. Be prepared for our first exam Monday."

The bell run and the students scattered out of the room quickly, but I stayed where I was.

"You're a tease." I whispered under my breath and began packing up my bags.

He laughed and rolled up his sleeves, then began erasing the board. "Don't blame me when you give me that look." He said, facing the board.

"Hey – you in there?" Seth chirped from behind the closed door, waving his hand back and forth in front of the small window.

I slung my bag over my shoulder and skipped past Jacob, skimming my hand along his shoulders.

"Bye, see you later." I murmured and bounded towards the door. I pushed it open, nearly knocking Seth over. "Let's go."

Seth stood and stared at me, "Uh – you forgetting a small detail?"

I stopped, and turned to him. "What?"

"You didn't drive, and I sure as shit can't take Jake's car. So, looks like lunch is here."

My eyes widened. I hadn't been in the lunch hall since my freshman year, and I really didn't want that to change now. Surrounded by so many humans at once, all probably staring at me and trying to eat the crap they called food. Blech.

"I don't really think . . ."

He slung his arm around my shoulder and tugged me forward. "It can't be that bad. Humor me."

I sighed, and bowed my head. I was not prepared for the stares that were coming our way. I never understood it. The ogling, the whispers, the glares. I was never even given a chance. It had been that way since my first day, but I guess it was to be expected when every student had gone to school together since they were toddlers. Small town mindset.

"They literally hate me, Seth." I huffed, dragging my feel against the linoleum.

"Sounds like an insecure subconscious." He piped, letting go of my shoulders to flick my bun.

"Okay, Freud. I've been the only new kid they have ever seen, probably their whole lives. Besides you. This town really doesn't like newcomers, it's been rough."

Seth nodded, "You are rejected, or you reject them?"

I rolled my eyes and pushed open the doors. It started with a few looks, and then like dominos heads turned as we were met with a flurry of eyes.

"I told you." I seethed.

Seth nervously chuckled, "I mean, we are an odd pair."

I scoffed and went to the line, going down and picking up a tray of something that resembled meatloaf. "Ew."

"You also weren't lying about the food . . . I mean, I eat anything – but this is bad." He grumbled when we found a table in the corner that wasn't occupied. I sat, and stared at the tray of mush. I pushed it around with the plastic utensil, before shoving the tray away and ultimately deciding I wasn't willing to try it.

I was surprised to see Seth do the same, considering he never skipped a meal when I was with him. Suddenly, a light turned on in my brain. Being surrounded by these students pushed a thought into my mind

"You're only taking classes through fall semester, right?" I questioned him.

He nodded while playing with the utensils, bending them back and forth. The knife snapped, causing him to glance up at me. "Why?"

"I think I've had enough." I snorted, "I don't even need to be here, it was just a social experiment. I'm over it."

Seth snorted, "Or is it because you hate being away from your precious _imprint_."

My eyes flashed red with temporary fury at his snide remark, but I shoved it down. "You're only bitter because you don't have one." I snapped.

His eyes fell to the table, and he appeared . . . distressed.

"Seth, I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like that." I hastily recovered, prying at his arm that laid limp on the table top.

"No, its true. I'm getting to the point where I feel like its hopeless. Waiting for her. Sam, Jared, Paul, Quil, and now Jacob? Its supposed to be rare, but that's half the pack. I want it. I want to feel the way my brothers do, to see her and just know. Seeing it through their eyes . . ."

My brows furrowed, "Seeing it through their eyes?"

His gaze lifted to meet mine. "In the pack mind."

I shook my head in shock, the pack mind?

"We . . . see everything. We have to. I thought you knew this. When I told you I saw how Jake felt, remember?"

The memory of the conversation flooded to the forefront of my mind, and it clicked. Oh. It made more sense now than it did when we had that conversation.

"I remember. I never really put that together, before."

"Okay, 'I have a doctorate'." He teased, nudging my shoulder. His boyish charm was back, and all hint of sadness was gone again.

I rolled my eyes, "I think you'll find her, Seth."

"I fucking hope so, it's lonely as hell."

"Why don't you date?" Pursing my lips, thinking it might be good for him.

His eyes flashed with sadness again, "I can't. I mean, I could. But . . . well, I have a sister. My real sister, Leah. Sam, the first Alpha, and Leah dated for a long time, until our cousin Emily, Sam's imprint came for dinner . . . and Sam imprinted on her. It changed Leah. It ruined her. I can't do that to anyone, just in case I ever meet her."

"That's really sad, Seth. I'm sorry."

He shrugged, "I understand it now. You can't deny the pull of your imprint. It's impossible."

I bit my lip, truly understanding what he meant now that I knew of the sacred tie that bonded Jacob and I.

* * *

I hoped into the rabbit with a grin, finally, I was with my Jacob again.

"How was the rest of your day?" He asked me thoughtfully.

I brushed my fingers across the top of his thigh and snatched them back to buckle my seatbelt. "It was slow, I missed you. I counted down the minutes."

He flashed me my Jacob grin, and let his hair out of the low bun holding his silky jet black hair back.

"I had a great day, thanks for asking guys." Seth announced, shoving his head between us. "What are we doing now? I was thinking we could go hiking – oh or we could have a race. No, actually we should go to a record store."

Jacob and I shot each other exasperated glances.

"What? Oh. I see how it is. Now that you've professed your unwavering love for each other I'm chopped liver. No problem. I'll just hang out alone, again."

I snickered, and shoved him back into his seat. "We can go to my house, Emmett has been bugging me about playing this stupid video game and it's not up my alley . . . not sure how you feel about hanging out with vampires though." I teased him, flashing a smirk in his direction.

"I don't care as long as I'm not forced to listen to you two make out and recite love poems." He groaned.

Jacob let out a chuckle, "Careful now, Clearwater. You're starting to sound like Leah."

Seth huffed and slid in his seat, "Starting to sound like Leah. Pft. Sure." He grumbled to himself.

As soon as we were away from the school, Jacob grabbed my hand, intertwining our fingers. I sighed in content, I missed his heat.

I leaned over and placed a single chaste kiss on his neck and he growled. "Don't distract me."

I blushed and turned to look out the window, watching the trees blur past us. We were getting close to my house, and I suddenly began feeling uneasy. Something wasn't right.

"Jacob –"

A growl surfaced from deep in his chest, "I know."

"I smell leaches." Seth snarled, "Not just your family."

Jacob was tense, gripping the steering wheel tightly he turned down the road leading to my house. We approached, and I reached for the door handle instantly.

"No!" He commanded, I froze in my spot and turned to look at him. "No, Nessie. Let me go first."

"Jacob, no. I can take care of myself."

He growled a warning at me and swiftly exited the vehicle, with Seth following. I hastily opened the door and scurried after them.

"Renesmee." Jacob warned, turning to me and grabbing my hand. "Do not leave my side, you understand me?"

I nodded, barely able to contain my fear. Where was my family? Why couldn't I hear them?

We approached the front door, and Jacob stopped, cocking his head to the side. "Three of them, new ones." He said lowly, and pushed the door open fast.

I felt my knees go weak when I saw who it was.

"Ah, Renesmee. So lovely of you to join us."

Aro.


	15. Nessie's Conscious Intrusion

**A/N:** Buckle up, readers. This is a long one. Also, shit hits the fan at some point. Actually; theres a few times where said shit does hit said fan. Ooooookay, as always, read, review, predict. Do it all. The more reviews, the more I want to update! Thank you a million. MUAH XX

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Chapter Fifteen – Nessie's Conscious Intrusion

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my fire was fate with you  
heartache would stay with you  
fly great escapes with you

-kehlani, honey

oOoOo

I swallowed thickly, and stared back at his hallow red eyes. I looked to his left and recognized the small blonde with a round face as Jane – but the man on his right; he was new. He was handsome, but most vampires tended to have immortal beauty. He had curly, messy honey hair that came to his shoulders. A wide jaw with cheek bones set high on his face, and his skin was tanned like caramel. His eyes, were not red like the vampires besides him. They were green. Yet, his scent was still thick and sweet like vampires would be. I was held captivated in his gaze, trying to decipher _who _and _what_ he was.

"And you have brought company, I see." Aro's voice sharply pulled me out of the trance I was in.

"A – Aro." I sputtered out, snapping my eyes back to his red pools. Jacob tensed as I said the vampires name, moving to stand in front of me. Seth mirrored his movements, and fell back behind me. I could feel their tension, and see the tremors.

Aro's face twisted into a slow, creepy smile and looked the werewolves up and down, before turning to give Jane a wider smile. She raised one eyebrow; I knew what was coming.

But then nothing. Her face fell, and she concentrated further. I glanced over at my mother, and saw her pursing her lips. She was shielding them.

"_Bella_." Aro chimed, rolling his tongue as he said her name. I took this chance to search the room, checking each member of my family. They were here, scattered around the room in defensive postures. But, not Nahuel. Where is Nahuel?

Aro flicked his wrist, and Jane relaxed. Her face creepily froze again, but I could still see the fury behind the red gloss of her corneas. Aro's attention came back to me, "Dear, sweet Renesmee. How you've grown. Come, child. Let me see." He held out his palm to me, and I knew what came next.

Jacob growled, and stuck his arm out, blocking me from moving forward.

I let out a ragged breath, "Jake – it's okay. I'm fine."

Still, he did not move.

I placed my palm on his bicep, and opened the connection. _I have to, please. Don't make this harder._

He huffed and dropped his arm, letting me pass. He grabbed my hand as I stepped away, pulling my attention to his eyes for a brief moment.

His beautiful, toffee eyes bore into mine. _I love you._ I thought to him.

He squeezed my hand three, quick times.

I let go, and returned my eyes to Aro's haunting gaze. He always had that same creepy smirk on his ancient face.

I inhaled, and took his outreached hand between both of my palms. Instead of letting him into my mind though, I pushed myself into his. I showed him every moment of my life, beginning from when we walked through their tunnel in Volterra after leaving that terrifying day. I went through the stills of my memory in fast forward, clicking, and shifting as quick as possible.

"Ah." He announced, his eyes still closed as he watched my life fold out behind his eyelids. My mind had begun showing him the last month, but I was careful, blocking specific details to my memories of my introduction to Seth, my first sight of Jacob. He tensed as he watched my memory of Jacob shifting, to our conversations, our first kiss, the imprint story. I snatched my hand away right as we got to my memories of last night, feeling exposed when he began to see the heated conversation we had against the very wall his back faced.

His eyes flashed open, and his creepy smirk turned into a full blown grin. He let out a shrill bleat of excitement.

"How very unique your life has been, truly _squisita." _I focused on his dusty skin, searching it for points of weakness.

I could hear my fathers unnecessary small inhale, and in an instant my eyes flashed to his golden ones. I saw it in his glance. He was telling me to not even think about it.

"Aro," I began, turning my attention back to him. "you've come back to check, just as promised. I am surprised, though. You come with a small entourage." I articulated, and flashed him my best Cullen grin. His creepy smirk turned wider once again.

"Need I anymore company just to visit my dear, old friends?" He questioned, motioning to my family. I looked to see Emmett's face twist in disgust.

I bit my lip, and looked back to this mystery vampire, then back at Aro. "As of yesterday, I've reached full maturity. Nahuel's predictions were correct. I am non-venomous, and not dangerous to humans."

He nodded slowly, and stepped around me. "Yet he got one thing wrong. Your ability to conceive, correct? Your human side should have kicked in, beginning your eternity of fertility. But, yet you remain barren and have not had a cycle."

I swallowed, and nodded shortly. It was true. I was supposed to begin my period, but it never came yesterday. Leading us to believe I was infertile. I was relieved but sad at the same time. Jacob and I had just talked about how he always wanted children yesterday.

"You also say you're not dangerous to humans? But, I wonder, what of these . . . wolves . . . you have accompanied yourself with? Your mind shows me great beasts, but before me stands men. How is that safe?" He slowly cautioned. I turned my body as he walked, following his trail. Jacob and Seth stood on edge, their arms dropped to their sides with fists clenched. They were resisting every urge to phase. _Please my Jacob, be calm. _I prayed to the universe.

I bit my tongue with my initial thought to insult Aro. I had to be smart. I knew what Jane could do – but who was this addition? For Aro to show up, unannounced, undetected, and unprotected by his guard . . .

"They are spirit wolves." I deadpanned, running my tongue over my teeth. The last thing I wanted to mention was that Jacob and Seth were born to protect their people from vampires just like Aro. Human blood drinkers. I had hidden it from my memories, but Aro was centuries old and, centuries wise.

"Renesmee." He chided, "You defend them honorably. I sense it is due to your . . . connection with this one." He nodded to Jacob, but kept his eyes boring into my own.

"What was the word, again?"

He knew the word.

"Imprint." I reminded, and suddenly felt Jacob's hot hands pull me back towards him. He possessively held onto me, keeping his hands firm on my waist.

Aro let out a callus laugh, and sharply turned to face me. My family was slowly growing more tense, and I could tell my mother was extremely uncomfortable being this far from me.

"Imprint. What a humorous word. A word that carries much greater meaning to the two of you, than most would understand at a surface level." He nodded to himself and carried on. "It is most interesting to me that they are nothing like the children of the moon, as I would expect them to be."

My father stepped forward, flashing his golden gaze to me then back to Aro. "We have broken no rules, Aro. Jacob and Seth are not children of the moon; they are shape-shifters. There is more to our supernatural world than we have ever known possible. They are not threats, and are controlled. They shift whenever they please, and do not have bloodlust. They live their lives as humans, and only shift when necessary." I was surprised to hear my father speak for me, but more alarmed at what he said. He was defending them.

Aro didn't even look in my father's direction, an unusual thing for him to do since he had always admired my fathers gift of mind reading from the stories I've been told.

"I see, and am truly . . . intrigued. What is deemed necessary, may I ask?" He turned his attention to Jacob.

Jacob shuddered, and his grip tightened around me. "When we feel threatened. If we feel the need to protect our tribe, our mates, or ourselves - we will do it."

Grandpa nodded and stepped in front of my grandmother, directing Aro's attention away from Jacob. "Aro, as you can see; she's not a threat to our kind. Neither are Jacob and Seth. Renesmee has grown and understands the full capacity of our laws, and the shifters have a similar set of rules. They would never expose our world, seeing as how they are apart of it."

Aro's lips formed a tight line. "Always such empathy, my dear old friend. Reaching an outstretched hand to those who do not walk the same path of life is a great example why I admire you so." Aro said to Grandpa with a forced smile. "When it comes to Renesmee, I never had a doubt you would lead her down the path of knowledge and compassion. She is truly a remarkable example of how powerful we can be when we put out minds to it. I am surprised, however, that you have not tried to push the limits of her gift."

My eyebrows furrowed, "Push the limit?" I blurted out.

He nodded and clasped his hands together with a clap, "I had expected it to have grown with you, but maybe you are not as gifted as I assumed."

I felt my ego take a hit, and just like my mother, I would not stand for criticism.

As soon as I opened my mouth to speak, my mom blurred to me, putting herself between us. Jane's eyes watched carefully, while the new vampire Emilian remained unmoving.

"We never tried, we thought it was unnecessary." She spoke softly, anchoring herself between us.

"Yet you posses a better range of shield now than the last time we met? What is the necessity of expanding your mind, but not your own offspring?" He questioned with a raised brow.

My father's lip curled, but he calmed quickly. "Aro, I believe you already know why."

Aro nodded, "I have my suspicions. Is it because you were frightened to believe she might be able to control another's thoughts? I'm sure you recognize that to penetrate one's mind with her own is the path towards mind domination, is it not?"

Mind domination? I had never for a second thought about that, or viewed my gift as some sort of power grab. I just . . . always had it. It was apart of me. It wasn't a weapon.

"Don't look so frightened, dear. Come, show me again. Test your mind on me."

Jacob tensed, his grip tightened. Momma didn't look like she wanted to move, either.

What was his goal here? Fear?

I brushed Jacob off, and ignored my mothers pleading gaze. I wouldn't be insulted. I took Aro's hand swiftly and shoved myself into his mind forcefully.

_What do you want to see?_

He closed his eyes and searched, his lips twitching now and again into a smile.

"Show me a false memory."

My eyebrow raised, but I closed my eyes and focused. I had never made anything up with my gift. I decided to focus on the stories Nahuel told me of his homeland, the jungles, the animals, the smells. I transformed my mind into a green forest, with frogs belting and birds cawing. The mist dewing over my skin, the feeling of foliage brushing my fingertips. Suddenly, it felt like _we_ were there. I let us walk through the thick vines, but suddenly my thoughts were not my own. I felt someone else, creeping in. Aro was silent, trapped by the intrusion of my own conscious. But, there was someone else.

The vampire with honey blonde hair and skin like caramel. I couldn't see him, but I could somehow smell him – inside Aro's brain. I wanted to pull away, but my eyelids were frozen shut, and slowly the sounds in the room began to fade out until I was only seeing black, my hearing cut out and I felt as if I had gone deaf.

"Renesmee." He called out, bringing me out of my fear I'd gone deaf. I felt myself fall into another's mind, out of the blackness. Here; it was hues of red, burgundy and black. Morphing and blending into mist. Seconds past, and then I felt my true vision return. I was watching myself, yet somehow also still was able to see with the very eyes I was staring into. It felt like a different dimension. I couldn't feel my body, or sense my surroundings. And that's when I began to panic.

"Don't be scared." I watched my body turn around, and then I turned around myself. It was terrifying, and similar to feeling like I was inside a mirror, watching from the inside _and_ the outside.

"What did you do to me?" I demanded, my voice coming out like I was a scared little girl. Which right now, I truly was.

"It's not forever, I promise. It's just a little trick. It's what you could do." The voice called back to me.

My breathing turned into anxious panting. "How?"

He clicked his tongue, "There are many ways to learn, but they all take a lot of patience. I have a feeling you possess that, though."

I felt the anger bubble up inside my chest, who was he to act like he knew me? "Who are you?!" I demanded. I could feel his presence, but every time I thought I saw him; he vanished. My point of view shifted instantly, and I was now facing hundreds of versions of myself, all lined up. I lifted my hand, and each version of myself in front of me made the same movements, only a second in delay like a domino effect.

I snapped my finger, and listened to the sound echo into the dark mist. Each snap produced a visual sound wave and pushed the mist away. It looked like the rings rain makes on bodies of water. I was becoming entranced with this . . . place.

"I am Emilian. Grandson of Joham, son of Caius." He told me strongly.

His voice brought me out of my glazed mind state, and I felt the fear rise again causing me to freeze. Joham . . . he was Nahuel's father . . . which means one of Nahuel's sisters is his mother. I remembered Caius, one of the three main members of the Volturi. He stood besides Aro and Marcus, the kings of our kind so to speak. So, his mother was a hybrid like myself, and his father a vampire . . . he was barely human. Suddenly I understood why they showed up. Why he mentioned my ability to conceive. Aro was hoping to take me with them, to give birth to another being like Emilian. I shuddered in disgust, the thought made me want to throw up. I was useless to them now, of course.

"You learn quickly."

I forced my mind to behave as my own, and willed him to stand before me. Mist billowed up, then dissipated. Emilian faded into place, right in front of me. "I would never do that. I can't." I hissed. "I'm not going to be apart of some_ breeding _plan."

His lip twitched and he grinned, revealing large, straight white teeth. "There is no plan. And, besides . . . if there had been, Aro stated that you are barren. So now, we only can offer opportunity. You and I, Renesmee; Aro has told me it been prophesied."

I scoffed, and took a step back. I stared into his dark green eyes, searching for a slice of humanity he may have in the quarter his genes posses. "There is no prophecy. He's lying to you. You're just a pawn, born into darkness and raised without a shred of compassion. I have a life; I have my Jacob."

"You see a lie; I see a way of life. I can give you so much more, we are alike in ways that wolf-man would never understand. Join me, Renesmee. Join our guard. You will have power you only ever dreamed of." He pleaded, trying to reason his insanity.

I crossed my arms defensively, "I don't want power! We are _nothing_ alike, I'm done with this game! Get me out! Get me OUT!" I screeched in his face, shoving him away from me as hard as I could.

I had put up the façade of strength, but truly I was crumbling. I was terrified of the violation I felt was going on in my mind. How I couldn't control anything, or that I couldn't escape on my own free will.

He smiled as he fell backwards, his body moving in slow motion as he snapped his fingers. My vision warped, my hearing cut in and out as I felt myself fall back out of this trick. The darkness slowly lifted, and pieces of my real surrounding appeared again. My living room, Jacob, Aro, my whole family all reappeared, fading in from the blackness. I felt like I was moving in slow motion again as I recognized i was still holding Aro's hands. I dropped them and fell limp into Jacob's arms.

"What did you do to her!" Jacob screamed, pulling me against his chest on the floor and smoothing my hair away from my face. I was shaking so badly; I could barely reach up to touch his cheek.

"Nessie, Nessie – are you okay? I'm here. Don't be scared." He comforted me, kissing my cheeks that were stained with tears I didn't feel fall.

"My Jacob." I whispered, and stared into his brown eyes. My mother and father were crouched next to him, hovering over me and looking at me with panicked eyes.

Dad stood up quick and faced Aro. "What did he do to her?" He snarled through clenched teeth.

"Edward, be calm. She will recover. Emilian only showed her the power she could posses, the things she might be able to do. He can manipulate a gift, but I'm sure you figured that out watching what happened in her mind." Aro said with a wave of his hand.

"She is never going anywhere with you; she doesn't have what you're really here to check for." Dad said calmly this time.

"It is a pity. I had high hopes for young Renesmee. Ah, but such is life. Come Jane, Emilian. We have seen enough." Aro flashed his eyes to me, then to the rest of my family. "I do apologize for the disorder that you may feel occurred. Emilian is still young, and learning his way. Until we see you again, Cullens. It was lovely as always, Carlisle."

They blurred out of the house, and I felt myself fall back into the depth of my dark mind . . .

* * *

I groaned and rolled my head side to side, and opened my eyes slowly.

"Nessie, honey?"

I blinked a few times, and felt Jacob's hot body around me.

"Jake?" I whimpered, focusing on his face. His toffee orbs pooled into mine, concern causing his brows to furrow.

"I'm right here, baby. You're okay." He coaxed, leaning down to kiss my cheeks, my nose and my forehead.

I sighed and nuzzled my face into his chest, "Jacob, did I fall asleep in the car? I had the scariest dream . . ."

Jacob tensed, then he tucked his fingers under my chin to lift my face to look at him. "Nessie . . . you passed out. You – you didn't have a dream."

My eyes flashed open and I nearly jumped out of his arms. My brain began processing quickly, putting together everything I remembered.

The complete and utter feeling of being trapped, the darkness that surrounded me, Emilian's voice terrifying me to my core . . . and the idea of being some sort of incubator for a new breed of hybrid's.

"J – Jacob." I choked out with a sob, and the hysterics took over. I let out a guttural sob, my chest heaving with it.

"Nessie, they will never touch you again, okay? I won't let him."

"He was _in _my head, Jacob. Not like dad – he was . . . everywhere. I feel _so _violated, Jake. I couldn't move, I couldn't hear and then it was like I wasn't even real anymore. Like I was floating in this fucking abyss . . . I didn't think I was alive anymore. Then there were hundreds of me like domino's, just going on forever. I don't understand. What did he _do_ to me?" I blubbered, clutching onto his neck and sobbing into his shoulder. He rubbed my back, my sides, and kissed my head over and over again.

"He tried to tell me that we were some fucking prophecy. Like I was just going to go with him and be some sort of vampire incubator. They're out of their fucking minds." My sobbing had tapered off, and it was replaced with pure, heated rage. I pushed myself off Jacob and stood up, brushing my tears off my face and looking around my room. It was dark out, and I was surprised to see that we were completely alone. My family was no where to be found, I couldn't smell them or hear them in the house.

"Where are they, Jacob?" I demanded, shifting my anger onto him.

He flinched, but remained calm. "Honey, they're just outside. They – they didn't want to trigger you. Your dad said your thoughts were really dark while you slept, and smelling them in your subconscious was making it worse. He thought it was best if . . . I was here alone when you woke up."

I let out a ragged sigh, and ran my fingers through my tangled locks. "I don't know what's happening to me, Jacob. I feel like I'm coming undone. I've never felt this . . . disoriented before. I don't feel safe, and I'm scared. What if he can do that from Volterra? What if all it took was one time and I'll never be free . . ."

Jacob stood up and instantly brought me against his body in a crushing hug, before pushing me back away and taking my face roughly in his hands. "Renesmee, listen to me. He will never, get to make you feel that way again. I don't care if I have to find him and kill him myself if that means you'll feel safe again."

My eyes widened, but he continued on before I could speak up. "You are so strong and so goddamn important to me and everyone you meet. We will lift you up when you don't feel like standing. Nessie, I promise I will keep every piece that falls away and help you through it. We will be okay. Do you understand? Nothing is going to happen. I'm here; you're here. We will work through this and nothing will ever make you feel this way again. Your mind is your own. Nothing will touch it again, okay? I wont let them."

He brought his mouth to mine gently, but I flung my arms around his neck and pulled him closer. I felt his tongue trace my bottom lip, so I opened my mouth and granted his tongue access.

"Jacob." I mumbled against his lips, heat rushing to my cheeks and between my legs. Jacob's promise to keep me safe not only lifted me, but also sent me into a frenzy of lust. I was blind to it, and wasn't going to even try to ignore it. I pulled away from him for a moment to catch my breath, and looked into his eyes. They were as dark as onyx, and before I could think more I was jumping into his arms, and wrapping my legs around his waist. I squeezed his shoulders as his hands gripped my bottom, and his mouth went to attacking my neck. I let out a soft moan, and grinded myself against his stomach. I wished my core was lower down, I wanted nothing more that to feel him.

"Fuck." He growled, gripping my ass tighter and lowering my body onto my bed, pushing me against the mattress as he got on top of me, his hands hot on my exposed skin. I whimpered, and lowered my hips past his waist. He sucked in a hiss when I began grinding against him frivolously. My jeans creating a friction that was nearly unbearable, we both gasped for air as we passionately attacked each others mouths.

"Touch me." I panted, my voice filled with lust.

Jacob growled, but shook his head. "Nessie," he groaned. "we need to stop."

"Jacob." I grunted, grabbing his face and making him look at me. "You told me you would give me anything I wanted, and I want you to _touch me_. I need this."

His eyes were blacker than black, something I never thought possible, and he immediately obeyed. I knew it was wrong to use what he told me as leverage, but I didn't want slow. I wanted fast, hot and passionate. I needed to feel whole. I needed him to take away the pain I was feeling in my mind.

His hot hands skimmed down my leg, hooking one around his back and pushing the other apart. His hands tickled the insides of my thighs, making me squirm.

"Jacob," I moaned, "please."

"Nessie, you're going to fucking kill me." He grunted, and shook his head with a grin. I didn't care if my family was outside. I didn't care if my dad heard everything. Stay the fuck out of my head then. No one was going to take my control away again.

Jacob's mouth was back against mine, his hands hovered between my thighs. "Nessie, honey. Please, are you sure?"

"Jacob." I snarled, taking his face between my hands. "Touch. Me."

He growled and kissed me hard, letting his hands fall between my legs and press between my thighs. I gritted my teeth as he gently rubbed me, cursing myself for wearing jeans. My hands went to unbutton them, but he was one step ahead of me. He yanked them off quick, but hesitated once they were finally off.

"Hold on, baby." He murmured and pulled away from me. He looked down at my naked lower half, taking in my thighs spread out beneath him, the dainty underwear that I was suddenly so thankful I chose . . . thinking Jacob wouldn't see – boy was I wrong. He smiled and his eyes lifted to meet mine.

"Nessie, you're so beautiful." He murmured, skimming his fingertips down my bare thighs, tickling me behind my knee. "Your skin is like milk, and so soft." He dropped his palm to the top of my thigh, and ran it upwards. He skimmed over the lace and pushed my sweater up, touching my flat stomach and curling his fingers around my waist. "So beautiful."

I gave him a half-hearted smile, and lifted my mouth to his. Kissing him slowly and deeply. "Jacob, please don't make me ask again." I whispered gently this time against his mouth. He smiled, and kissed me back. His hand ran down my side and dipped between my thighs, without hesitation. I gasped when I finally felt his fingers tease me through the skimpy fabric. His hands were so hot, it only made me want him more.

Jake growled when he smelled my arousal heightening, and his fingers pressed against me rougher. He began to move his thumb back and forth, teasing me slowly. I let out a moaning sigh, and my breath became shorter as pleasure took over as my main emotion. Jake's hand shifted against my heat and I suddenly felt his index finger and thumb touch my tender bud through the fabric, I let out a gasp and moaned loudly when he pressed against it harder.

I moved my body towards his hand, moaning and gripping the bed sheets tightly. I had read about sexual acts, but to feel what was described was more than I could have ever imagined – even in my fantasies. Jacob felt better than I ever dreamed of. And this was just his hands. I moved my body with his fingers, grabbing his arm to move faster. He smirked against my lips as I got louder, I knew what I was building up towards. I was getting closer to my release, something I've never experienced before but was more than ready. I needed this to take away the tension of the day. I was almost there, but Jacob slowed his movements and I let out a groan of protest, which earned me a devilish laugh from him.

"Baby, you have to keep quiet," Jake whispered and I nodded furiously. It's not like my family didn't know what was happening, so I could have cared less how loud or quiet I was. I guess it was the principal of the matter, though.

I felt his hand return, only this time he went under the barrier of my panties and straight to the heart of me. My eyes rolled and a moan escaped my lips again as I felt his fingers run along my aroused flesh.

"Fuck," Jake muttered thickly as he felt my wet heat. "you're so hot down here. I never can feel heat."

"Jacob," I moaned. "Jacob please - "

His finger circled the outer lips of my warm center before dipping inside quickly after I began to beg. His hands moved against me, and I couldn't hold in my moans. His hand moved tauntingly slow, putting my body through blissful agony with every thrust of his huge finger. I didn't know how much more I could take when he added a second finger and picked up the speed. I was so close to my release when Jacob twisted his hand slightly, found my pleasure spot, and I let out a very loud moaning cry. I turned my head to bite his trap in an attempt to keep quiet as I rode into sweet oblivion, but my moaning did not cease and I gasped his name as he helped me ride out the wave, my core pulsating around his hand.

He pulled his hand away from me and kissed my neck softly, making a trail of kisses until he met my mouth.

I laid nearly limp under him, my eyes squeezed tightly shut. I was still quivering from the experience, and couldn't believe it was so amazing. I felt his hot breath on my face, and my eyes fluttered open to meet his. They were back to my favorite toffee brown.

"Jacob, thank you. Thank you, my Jacob. That was – it was amazing."

He smiled tenderly at me, and gave me a chaste kiss. "Nessie, I love you. I will do anything you want me to – anything you need me to."

"I love you, my Jacob. You eased so much of my fear and the tension that was exploding inside me. I needed that to . . . help me realize I wouldn't have to think of what happened forever."

He grinned widely at me, "And, it was totally worth the tree I'm going to be thrown through later."

I snorted and shifted under him, my thigh brushing between his thighs. My eyes widened when I felt him; he was huge.

He gave me a sheepish look. "Sorry."

My hands flashed to his jeans immediately, I wanted to return the favor but he stopped me before I could touch him. "No, Nessie. I – I want to take care of you. Don't worry about me."

"Jacob . . ."

"Let me just focus on you. You are so thoughtful, and I would probably die if you touched me anyways but . . . not yet. Okay?" He begged, his voice sounding like heaven.

I simply nodded.

"Can I draw you a bath, honey?" He asked me sweetly, cupping my face with his palm.

I smiled, and gave him a nudge to go on. He laid a quick kiss on my lips and hopped up, striding into my bathroom.

I inhaled deeply, then exhaled. I was going to be okay. I wouldn't let what happened today control my thoughts for any longer than necessary. I was safe; Jacob would protect me. As long as I had my Jacob I would be okay.

A few minutes passed, and Jacob reappeared. "Okay, Ness. It's ready." I pushed myself up on my bed onto my elbows and looked at him with a smile. He was so sweet, and caring. My Jacob, the protector and provider.

It seemed so outdated of me to think that way, but I couldn't help it. I . . . liked when he did things for me, and the primal thought of him being my protector turned me on. I blamed the whole being-in-love-with-an-alpha-wolf thing, but I wouldn't say that was upsetting.

I heaved myself off the bed, and walked towards him, pulling off my sweater with a flick of my wrist and dancing past him, shutting the door behind me quickly.

I heard him chuckle, "Trouble."

I smiled to myself and undressed completely, and slid into the bath. Jacob had lit some candles and put bubbles in my bath, he was truly so romantic it was hard to believe he was real.

He knocked on the door once, and pushed it open. I dipped myself deeper into the bath, below the thick bubbles. "You okay, Nessie?" He asked, peaking around the door. His eyes were firmly shut, causing me to giggle.

"Jacob, you can open your eyes."

They opened without any hesitation and I watched as he clenched his jaw. Probably recognizing I was very naked in the tub.

"Will you sit with me?" I innocently asked, wanting him to stay close at all times.

He began to protest, "Ness . . ."

"It's okay, I wont lure you in or anything." I teased, pulling a hand out of the tub and beckoning him to me with a waggle of my finger. His jaw nearly dropped to the floor as he scurried over, flopping himself next to me on the bathroom floor. He leaned against the tub with his elbow, and rested his temple against his palm.

"You even look beautiful covered in bubbles. How are you real?"

I bit my lip and looked up at him under my lashes, "Jacob, do you really promise that you will . . . take care of me?"

His brows furrowed together, "Of course, Nessie. You're my whole world."

"I'm scared that I'm going to be . . . messed up. That he scrambled my brain. What if I can't even use my gift anymore?"

He shrugged. "Well, why don't you try?"

Fear shot through me, causing me to freeze. "What if I do what he did."

"Nessie, you'd never hurt me – right?" He simply questioned. I nodded quickly. "Then, don't worry. I'll be okay."

I sighed, and lifted my hand out of the warm water again, bringing my palm to his exposed cheek. Water and suds ran down my arm, but I ignored them. I needed to stay focused; It might be hard trying to open the connection.

The warmth flooded to my palms, and I knew it was open. Easier than I feared.

_Can you hear me, my Jacob?_

He smiled, and nodded. Holding my hand against his cheek.

_It's not . . . black, is it? You can hear, you can see?_

"I can see, baby. I can hear you." He confirmed. I felt my confidence rise, and the fear began to pass. Just as I was about to push another thought into his mind, my memories came tumbling to the forefront of my brain and hit me like a train. The burgundy mist, the perception of viewing myself from the outside _and_ inside, how time seemed to move and stop at the same instance. Jacob tensed but I couldn't stop, he wouldn't let me move my hand away.

"Nessie, honey. It's alright. You can show me. If it will help you move on, I want to see. Let me see." He coaxed gently, his brown eyes boring into mine. I blinked the tears away and gave him a small nod. I exhaled, and closed my eyes. Praying to the universe that I would be able to open them again.

I showed Jacob what I showed Aro. The jungle, the trees, the sounds I made up in my mind. I replayed the birds cawing, and the feeling of the vines brushing against my skin. I showed him when I sensed Emilian creeping into my mind. How I thought I was trapped when I could smell him couldn't move. The feeling of being engulfed into nothing and nowhere, with all my senses being cut off. His eerie voice calling out my name, forcing me to fall between what felt like multiple dimensions. Then the mist. God, the horrible mist that reminded me of death. How it was burgundy and black, hauntingly beckoning me towards it.

_Jacob, I felt so small. I was so scared._

Tears fell from my eyes, but I couldn't stop now. It was exploding out from my palms. I heard my voice echo in my mind, '_Who are you?_'. The fear struck me again as I witnessed the hundreds of versions of myself mimicking my every move, and how entrancing it was to watch.

_They wanted me . . . for him. They thought they could take me and breed me like I was some animal. As if I was just existing to give them more power._

Jacob growled, the grip on my hand tightened. "They will never touch you."

_They only left because . . . it didn't start. I should have started my period, but it didn't come. Which means, I probably am infertile._

I opened my eyes to see his reaction, but it never changed. He didn't look upset, or angry.

"I would never be angry, Nessie. I just want you."

_I can't give you a family, Jacob. Don't you want one?_

He smiled tenderly at me. "Of course, I would love a family. But, that doesn't mean we can't make one if its just us. You are my family now, Nessie. There's no changing that. Plus, I have these damn leeches too I guess. They're not half bad."

I sniffled and laughed at his joke. My Jacob, always trying to make me smile.

I shifted in the bath and my eyes widened with Jacobs when we both smelled it.

_Blood._


	16. One Glance

**A/N:** Not a lot of views on the last chapter, so maybe it was too long? Do you like long chapters, or short? In the last chapter I thought it was important to write in that smut scene, so the imprint bond could have it's chance to showcase what it means. Jacob can't deny her, no matter what!

Let me know what you think of this plot so far! I like the story, but may go back and alter a few things. Cheers! xx

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Chapter Sixteen – One Glance

* * *

_but you know they're not watching me_  
_but you know they're not what you think_  
_but you know they're not what you see_  
_Its a different world outside_

_-hippie sabotage, able to see me_

"Jacob." I gasped, and looked down at the sudsy water that had begun to stain red, swirling though the bath.

Jacob stood up swiftly, and looked around the room with a panicked grimace. "Nessie –" He grabbed a towel and held it out for me.

I blushed deeply, and covered my face with my hands. "I can't believe this just happened." I mumbled between my fingers.

He laughed awkwardly, "I mean – it's good news, though. Yeah?"

I peered at him through my hands, and noticed he was wearing a shit eating grin.

I groaned when I felt my stomach clench and cramp. "Okay – uh yeah. Can you give me . . . a second?" I questioned with a wince.

His russet cheeks turned pink as he set the towel down, "Ness – I have two sisters. I'm not squeamish or anything. Just let me know if you need me, okay?"

I nodded and he strode out of the bathroom, shutting the door behind him.

I can't believe I started my period right in front of my werewolf boyfriend, in a freaking bathtub no less.

I held my breath as I thought about what this meant. We would have to assume this meant I was probably fertile, given Nahuel's stories of his sisters and the evidence being Emilian's life. This is something the Volturi definitely would be interested in; something they'd want to know. My period starting could mean they'd come back for me, but how would they know if we didn't tell them? Only hours ago I was barren to them, and now everything had changed . . . but this could remain a secret. Deception to the Volturi carried a death warrant, but I would risk it. I wouldn't be some creepy vampire maiden to them. I wanted to give my body to Jacob.

I blinked in disbelief at my subconscious thoughts. Jacob and I had only given into our feelings to a little over 48 hours ago . . . and I was ready to jump him and scream 'put a baby in me!'. That was seriously crazy . . . right? I knew of the 'honeymoon' phase in relationships; Hell - I exist because of it! So, was this just my hormones speaking or did I really want to carry Jacob's child?

I touched my belly under the water, and felt its smooth, flat surface. One day, Jacob's baby _could_ be there. Not the Volturi's. I knew for a fact I didn't want to be a creepy vampire baby incubator. I was able to decipher I was anti-incubator but all for being the mother of mini Jacobs.

I stifed a giggle, and slapped my hand over my grinning face. It's not like Jacob could see me smiling, or hear my thoughts.

I stood up swiftly out of shock. Oh, God. Dad was probably having a fucking aneurysm right now if mom hadn't shielded me – how could I have let myself get this far into a fantasy when he was probably hearing everything!

I lifted the drain and stepped out of the tub, I dashed over to the shower and turned it on, stepping beneath the spray and rinsing any blood off that had run down my legs. I whimpered to myself, knowing my family probably could all smell this happening to me. Which might I add . . . completely and totally mortifying. Hybrid evolution be damned; why couldn't I be normal? I have to deal with this for eternity!

The only upside to this situation was . . . well, the thought of being pregnant with Jacob's baby. I couldn't get that out of my head. A tiny mini Jacob baby, growing its life within a womb my body creates for it. This idea was amazing, and filled my heart with warmth. It also freaked me out, though. Knowing if the Volturi ever found out . . . no. I won't let them. Screw the Volturi . . . They wouldn't get to take this away from us.

I would only ever have Jacob's children. No one else would touch me. I only ever wanted Jacob to have me, to see me, to love me.

_Damn it. Stop thinking so much._

I blushed immediately, but couldn't stop thinking about it even when I began to recite every lyric to Backstreet Boy's songs that I could remember. The boulder began to tumble, spiraling my erratic thoughts out of control. A baby would mean sex. With Jacob. After his hands had done what they did earlier.

I am so glad it didn't start during _that_.

"Now, that would have been_ truly_ mortifying." I mumbled to myself, letting my mouth fill with water.

"You say something, Ness?" Jacob called from behind the closed door.

I choked on the water, and spit it out obnoxiously. "Uh – no, Jake! Just . . . thinking out loud." I admitted bashfully.

I cut the water off and stepped out, carefully wrapping myself in a towel and running over to my vanity. _Okay. So, tampon . . . or pad? _My mother had taught me how to use both, in preparation for this day.

Definitely tampon. Couldn't risk my family going into a damn frenzy over period blood.

_Ew, Renesmee._

I managed to insert it, and wiggled around in place. God, this felt weird. Human girls seriously have done this for years? Why haven't they figured out anything better?

I sighed to myself, and wrapped myself up again. I bit my lip and pulled open the door, seeing Jacob sit patiently on the edge of my bed, holding his hands together in his lap. He looked up and stood immediately when he saw me.

"Uh – I –" He stammered, his eyes racking up and down my scantily towel clad body.

I rolled my eyes, and walked past him to my closet, closing it slightly behind me. I left it cracked, simply because I was in the mood to torment Jacob with the possibility of seeing me naked for .2 second before I put clothing on. If I had to agonize internally about having sex with him, he could agonize over me getting dressed. I dropped the towel and dug around for a pair of cotton panties, and pulled them on before grabbing my black pajama shorts and a thin t shirt. I never wore a bra to bed, so I wasn't going to pretend I did just because Jacob was here. I bit my lip and looked down, hoping he would be okay with my sleep wear.

I popped my head out of the cracked door to see Jacob staring at the floor.

"Fighting temptation, are we?" I teased, and bounced my way over to him, flicking off my bedroom lights in the process so the only light in the room came from the moon pouring onto the floor. I flopped onto my bed behind him and sprawled out, but it was a king sized bed so there was still a ton of room. Room I would sacrifice for one hot werewolf.

Jacobs head swiveled around and he took in what I was wearing. He blinked a few times, then opened his mouth only to snap it shut.

"What?" I questioned with a raised brow.

He shook his head. "I will say it again, like always, you are _trouble_."

I grinned and sat up, grabbing his arm and pulling him down on the bed next to me. "Jacob." I breathed. "You'll stay with me tonight, right?"

Jacob looked surprised, but happy. "Of course, Nessie. Edward might explode but if you need me, I'm here."

I bit my lip and looked at him under my lashes. "I_ need_ you."

He fought the smile that tugged at the corners of his lips. "Come here." He murmured and started pulling at the sheets under us. I wiggled under them with him, and scooted back against his chest and thighs. His arms wrapped around me, pressing his hips flush against my butt. I blushed at the contact, but felt the fabric of his jeans and frowned.

"Jacob, you don't have to wear those to bed." I mumbled, and shifted around so I was facing him. I let my hands dip under the covers and tugged at them. "It's alright. I promise."

He stared at me hard, "If we leave your room, you might have to defend my life."

I laughed, "Jacob, take off the stupid jeans. No one sleeps in jeans."

He sighed and nodded, letting me unbutton and unzip them for him before he slid them off and kicked them out from under the blankets.

I smiled in triumph and turned back around, resuming our previous, somewhat compromising position. I backed into him a bit aggressively, and tried not to gasp when I felt him beneath my butt. He groaned into my hair, and his dick twitched against me.

"Jacob Black." I muttered with a 'tsk, tsk' sound. He laughed and hugged me tighter against him.

"Nessie, go to sleep." He mumbled.

I bit my lip and shook my head 'no'. "I'm sorry that it happened when you were right there. I'm kind of embarrassed." I admitted.

He kissed the back of my head. "S'nothing to be embarrassed about, baby."

I sighed, "It also scares me. I'm glad it happened when it did . . . even if it meant you being right there. It means that they don't know, and hopefully won't ever."

He tensed, "Nessie, we won't let them find out."

Our breathing and beating hearts filled the silent room for a moment, mine fluttering faster than usual.

"We?"

He pulled me around to face him, his brown eyes wide as they looked into mine. "I . . . I talked to Sam. I phased after you passed out. I was so angry they did that to you . . . I tried to go after them but Emmett, Jasper and Seth stopped me. Sam was phased at the time, and saw everything. We . . . we think it'd be best if I resumed my Alpha status for the whole pack. So we can come together and protect you, Nessie. Back home in La Push."

I blinked a few times, "Like, leave?" I asked, dumbfounded.

He nodded slowly, "Just us, and Seth."

I furrowed my brows, trying to wrap my mind around what he was saying. "Leave without my family? I can't do that."

"Nessie." Jacob growled, the Alpha resonating through his tone.

I huffed and sat up in bed, staring down at him. He propped his torso up with his elbows, staring back at me harder. I felt a shiver go down my spine, this was his version of my 'look'.

"Jacob – what about your job, and Seth going to school . . ."

He looked up at the ceiling and back to me, half rolling his eyes. "You know damn well those are not important questions right now."

"Okay, but why would I be safe there and not with my family?"

Jacob raised his eyebrows, "Are you really questioning my ability to keep you safe when the whole reason I exist is to protect you from bloodsuckers like King Dracula? Nessie, I hate saying this but I was built to kill vampires."

"Would it be forever?" I questioned, narrowing my eyes.

He pursed his lips, "I don't know."

I shifted my gaze away from him and fiddled with my blankets. "Could they visit?"

"Not on the reservation." He declared softly.

I wrinkled my nose and looked at him briefly. "Why not there?"

Jacob inhaled deeply and scrubbed his face. "Carlisle made a treaty with my great grandfather Ephraim Black; our last Chief and Alpha. The treaty created a line, one your family can't cross. It's why I got so angry at your party with Sue. She thought because you're technically a Cullen, the elders wouldn't allow you to come onto the Rez. But, I talked to Sam and he's agreed to talk to the Elders on one condition."

I motioned my hand in a rolling movement, signaling him to keep talking.

"We get married."

I gasped and my hand flew over my mouth to cover it. "What?"

He gave me a weak smile, "So, you're not a Cullen anymore. You'd be . . . my wife. A Black."

A blush crept onto my face, and I couldn't help but grin. The idea of leaving my family was painful but thinking about marrying Jacob made it hurt less.

"Your wife." I repeated. "H - have you talked to my family?"

He shook his head 'no'. "Bella is shielding us. She promised to do it so we could have privacy until the morning. I've been thinking it over all evening while you slept." He confessed.

I internally sighed with relief. That meant dad didn't hear any of my baby-making-with-Jacob thoughts . . . thank the stars.

I pursed my lips and played with my fingers, "Where are they now?"

"Checking the forests. Making sure they didn't loop back. Edward was having trouble listening to your thoughts anyways when you first passed out; he was the first to leave. He's been pacing outside a few miles away for hours now." Jacob confessed, his face fell. "I know how he feels, after seeing what you showed me."

I shuddered; I loved my family but I was glad they weren't here right now. Aro had left a burning fear of their cold hands in my mind, one I wasn't going to just move on from that quickly.

"So, we get married then? And . . . move in together in La Push." I pieced together out loud.

He nodded, "I can't make you do that, though. Only if you want to."

I bit my lip and looked at him, "I feel guilty . . . because I do want to. I would leave my family, my life . . . to be yours. To be safe with you. Does that make me a bad person?"

Jacob's eyes widened and he sat up, pulling me down to his chest. "No, Nessie. Not at all."

"Jacob, does any of this scare you? At all? We met a month ago, and fell in love so quickly . . . then I start my period and it's set to change our entire lives. It's all so abnormal." I mumbled against the bare skin of his neck.

He sighed in content, running his nose over the top of my head. "Meeting you and knowing you has been the most exhilarating and amazing thing I've ever experienced. I wouldn't change this for the world. In all honesty though . . . it made me excited."

I furrowed my brows and snuggled into him more. "My period excited you?" I snorted.

He sighed into my hair, "The thought that maybe you can . . . have my baby . . . because of this. I don't know. It sounds so primal." He said with a nervous chuckle.

"I thought the same thing, at first." I confessed, staring at the wall resisting the urge to look up and kiss him.

He shifted, and lifted my chin up with his fingers regardless. His dark eyes captivated me in the moonlit room. "Really?"

I bit my lip and nodded silently. "After declaring to myself no one else would get to have privileges to my womb except you." I joked. Jacob didn't say anything, he just grinned.

"I love you, Nessie. So much. More every second." He told me happily.

I leaned in and gave him a soft, short kiss. "I love you, Jacob. I would love to give you that. I would love to be pregnant . . . with your baby. It makes me feel so good inside to think about. Is that crazy? I feel like this is all so insane."

He laughed, "No and yes. But, it feels right."

I pursed my lips, "Do you think it's because of the imprint bond? That really our bond is just because we'd make good babies?" I half joked, my tone dancing with seriousness.

He frowned and shook his head. "No, Nessie. I think the bond is just to bring us together, and everything after is just because of us. Because we love each other."

I nodded slowly, "When would you . . . want . . . a baby?" I asked, curiously.

"After we get married." He stated without skipping a beat. "I'm a traditional man." He winked.

"When can we get married, then?" I impatiently asked.

He chuckled, and pulled me against his chest. "Honey, one thing at a time. Okay?"

I giggled into his chest, and closed my eyes. Letting the exhaustion take over . . .

I inhaled deeply, smelling my favorite person right next to me. I sleepily opened my eyes and took in how beautiful Jacob's russet skin looked in the morning light. I skimmed his sharp jawline with kisses and nuzzled his high set cheekbones with the tip of my nose.

He stirred and breathed in deeply, while cracking one eye open at me.

"Morning, baby." He mumbled, his voice deep and groggy with sleep.

I loved when he called me that, but I loved it even more when it was the first thing he said to me in the morning. It felt so intimate, and I knew I never wanted to wake up alone ever again.

"Good morning, Jake." I mused, freeing my hand from under the covers and running my fingers through his silky black hair. I pushed it away from his face and it sprawled over the pillow.

"Nightmares?" He questioned, and I shook my head 'no' with a lazy smile.

"No, I slept amazing. Better than I ever have." I replied with a blush. He smirked and kissed my cheek, dragging his lips down my face until they were at the corner of my mouth.

"Can I have a kiss?" He asked, and licked his lips as they hovered over mine.

I hastily closed the distance and parted my lips against his, moving rhythmically with one another.

Our kiss ended abruptly when there was a sharp knock on my bedroom door.

"Renesmee?" My mother called softly behind it, jiggling the locked knob. When did I do that?

Jacob and I both blushed, and crawled off one another. I threw him his pants, and also his shirt that somehow managed to come off too during the night.

"Hold on!" I told her, scrambling off the bed and falling onto the carpeted floor with a thump. I shot up to my feet, and flashed Jacob a look before going to open the door. Half-vampire or not I still inherited some of my mothers clumsiness.

I pulled it open quickly, and grinned at my mother who was giving me the most disapproving look.

"You better put some more clothes on before your dad truly does kill Jacob." She mumbled, and walked past me into the bedroom. "Jeeze, Jake. You too."

I turned and noticed Jacob still sitting in my bed, holding his clothes with a sheepish look on his face. "Er – uh – okay." He mumbled, pulling his jeans on under the safety of my covers. He jumped off the bed to stand up next to me, bringing his shirt on over his head as he moved.

Momma sat on my bed and stared at us, looking between us back and forth with a narrow gaze.

"You can relax, Jacob." She announced with a snort. "I won't eat you."

I looked up to see Jacob's eyes wide in his skull, looking like he was waiting for her to strike him. I rolled my eyes and grabbed a sweatshirt from my closet before sitting myself down on the bed next to her, and leaned into her open arms. She had been kind and understanding to my feelings for Jacob since day one when I confessed I thought he was amazing and I had a crush, so it was nice that she wasn't making a big deal out of Jacob casually lounging in my bed half naked. I had a feeling her and dad had been in a similar position while she was human.

"So . . ." I began, feeling awkward that Jake was standing right there. "It came." I finally said after a long pause.

"I know."

Of course she does.

"What does that mean . . . since yesterday . . ." I continued in broken sentences, not knowing how to bring up what Jacob and I tentatively planed.

I watched her grimace, and she bit her stone lip. "We don't know if they'll ever find out. Alice is having trouble seeing."

I frowned; I knew it was hard to see my future, but even more difficult with Jacob around now. Especially if we did leave together.

"Can she see if they come back?"

Mom sighed, and crossed her ankles. She looked down at her hands then back to me. "Renesmee, I wish I had answers. I know how confused you are."

I stood up, feeling completely restless. I let myself fall into Jacob again, finding it easier this way. He wrapped his arms around me tenderly, resting his chin on top of my head. "Jacob helped me." I mumbled, my cheeks turning pink.

She raised her eyebrows, "I'm thankful he could be there for you when you didn't need us." She stated, her voice remaining constant regardless of the strained look she held in her stone features. "I'm not . . . pleased with what I walked in on. You two need to be a bit more conspicuous when I'm not shielding you." She announced with a stern glare, but her face broke into a smirk.

"Sorry, momma." I mumbled with flushed cheeks.

"I know you're not my little girl anymore, and I'm trying my best to accept it. We just had such a short amount of time . . . letting you go seems impossible. All we wanted was to comfort you last night and knowing we couldn't was difficult to process." She admitted to the still air, not particularly speaking to me.

I broke away from Jacob and sat next to my mother again. "I'll always be your girl, though. You gave me the best childhood a half-vampire could ask for." I kissed her cheek. "I didn't mean to upset you or Dad. It's just . . . what they did . . . really worked me up." I mumbled, not wanting to really discuss it further.

Daddy glided into my room just then, and glared at Jacob before crouching down in front of me.

He took my hands and brought them to his lips. "Renesmee, we were never upset with you. We just wanted to be there for you, but we understand. Yesterday was traumatic, for all of us."

I nodded and pushed the tears away that flooded my eyes. "Did you . . . see?"

He nodded shortly and inhaled sharply through his nose. "I saw in Aro's mind what would happen if we pulled you away. Renesmee, we could have lost you. I'm so sorry, doll. I'm sorry we couldn't keep you safe. I'm sorry he was stronger than us." Dad apologized, anguish rolling over his features in waves.

"I tried to shield you but it wouldn't penetrate." Mom whispered, staring into my eyes like she was about to break down.

I looked up to see the rest of my family, and Nahuel standing throughout my room behind Jacob, who stood with crossed arms staring down at my parents.

I looked at Jacob pleadingly, and he was next to me instantly. My family surrounding me was beginning to overwhelm me, and I wanted nothing more than for my personal sun to comfort me I pulled my hands away from my dads and collapsed into Jacob's arms, letting myself silently cry into his chest. I saw the flinch on my parents faces as I rejected them for Jacob. I couldn't help it, though. Their cold touch only reminded me of what it felt like inside my mind.

Nahuel cleared his throat, but I didn't move.

"I recognize that Renesmee's cycle has begun, which would bring Aro's attention back to her. I fear he has already found all three of my sisters, and that they didn't make it which is why he came here. She might be his last resort, and seeing as how she's not related to my supposed nephew . . . his goals might be shifting." Nahuel suggested, his tone mute of emotion.

I shuddered against Jacob as more tears escaped my eyes. I muffled my sobs into his shoulder, I hated being talked about like this. I needed to get far away, so we would never have to think about this ever again. I placed my palm on his cheek and looked up at him through my tear soaked lashes. _Jacob, I can't be here anymore. I don't want to talk about this._

Jacob's eyes softened, and he nodded.

My dad flashed his eyes between the two of us, "I need everyone to leave now besides Alice – out of hearing range." They exchanged confused glances, but complied. He waited a few moments before growling.

"Absolutely not." My dad bellowed to Jacob. "You're not taking her."

I watched as Jacob snapped his head towards my father. "She will be safer with the pack. You fucking know this, Edward." Jacob snarled. I felt myself stiffen and shifted my puffy eyes to look at my father. He had already started pacing, obviously due to Jacob and I's mind racing through our conversation last night.

"We can protect her. Our scent will hide hers, and they won't ever even think to look in La Push." Jacob reasoned, looking towards my pixie aunt then back to my father. "Or, we wait and hope to God they don't show up with some walking dead army and its just us."

"It's true, Edward." Alice said solemnly. "I – I can see. Bits and pieces. For years, I can see she's safe."

"What if we gather friends; witnesses? To help us." He desperately questioned my pixie aunt.

She let out a shuddered sigh, "No – it's no good. Every option besides this one doesn't end the way we want it to."

My father let out the sound I'd only imagine a mangled animal to make. "They're trying to take everything!" He shouted, and picked up my dresser, and throwing it through my window. Jacob picked me up and shielded me from the ricocheting glass and wood. "When will it be enough!"

I flinched, not knowing how to react to his sudden behavior. Dad never got upset – the only time I saw him angry was when Emmett and I crashed a sports car a few years back when he taught me to drive.

Jacob set me down and I moved away from him, reaching an outstretched hand. "Daddy." I choked out, my vision blurring behind the tears. "I don't think it will ever be enough."

He collapsed onto his knees, my mother flew to his side, whispering in his ear. He nodded, and looked up at me, then to Jacob. "You leave tonight." He said sharply, and rose to his feet. His composure regained as if he hadn't just had an outburst.

"When – when will I see you again?" I choked out, surveying their expressions quickly.

I noticed Alice last. She looked to the ground, avoiding my gaze.

"No." I sobbed, "Never? You can't be serious!" I shrieked, and felt Jacob pull me back against him. "Momma?" I whimpered, searching her eyes for the truth.

"It's for the best, Renesmee. It's to keep you safe." Alice told me softly. I reached behind me to grab Jacobs large hand, tangling our fingers together to keep me from falling apart.

"We will see you again, baby girl. I promise. We will find a way." My mother promised, coming to stand beside me. I let go of Jacob and hugged her tightly, ignoring how her once comforting scent put fear in my mind now. Had they placed that fear there?

"We'll get you what you need. I'll have Carlisle call the school. Jasper and I will travel to Vancouver and meet with an associate. We shouldn't risk waiting regardless knowing they went back to Volterra." Dad concluded, not looking at me.

"This is all so fast." I breathed into my mother's soft brown hair. "I need more time."

I felt the cold, small hand of my aunt touch my shoulder. "Every choice you make changes the outcome, but Renesmee – this is the only one I can see that works. Trust me, if I could show you I would." She spoke into my ear, kissing my temple quickly before fluttering away.

I pulled away, and turned to face Jacob, "Jake?"

He furrowed his brows and pulled me out of my moms arms and against him in a hug. "It'll be alright, Ness."

I was too numb to even cry, my life had taken so many twists and turns in the last month than I ever had known possible.

I knew why dad insisted the rest leave – because the less people who knew, the better.

I felt my grandmothers cold hand touch my shoulder gently. "Renesmee?" I pulled away from Jacob and looked towards my kind hearted grandmother. I smiled weakly at her. "Would you like to help me prepare some breakfast for you and Jacob? Neither of you ate yesterday and I have a feeling you might be hungry."

I sighed and nodded, taking her small, cold hand in mine and letting her lead me out of my grandfather's study. We had been going over all of my medical history. Carlisle was basically teaching Jacob everything about me in case anything ever happened. I was glad grandma had offered to take me away, I couldn't listen anymore.

Talking about leaving with Jacob had been one thing, but for it to actually be happening was another. I wasn't prepared to feel the emotions I was. For once, I wished Jasper would intervene.

I felt the familiar wave of false serenity, and flashed a glance behind my shoulder. My blonde uncle nodded at me and turned back around, continuing his hushed conversation with Jacob, Carlisle and my father.

I sighed and padded down the stairs with my grandmother. She shuffled me into the kitchen and had me sit on the stool at the island.

"Are you alright, dear?" She questioned simply.

I shrugged. "I don't know, honestly. I feel like . . . I feel like a mess. My life is all over the place. So much keeps changing, and then I don't get to adjust when something else gets thrown into the mix."

She nodded, and went about the kitchen preparing us French toast. I had decided to spill my heart to her. Grandma was trusting, empathetic and would keep any conversation we had private.

"I mean – I met Jacob exactly one month ago today. Grandma – one month. And since then . . . just so much keeps happening . . . and changing . . . I'm just getting really overwhelmed, I guess. More has happened to me this month than in my entire life." I stuttered out, my hands flailed in the air anxiously as I tried to move myself along.

She smiled tenderly at me, "When love happens, its quick and turns your world upside down. It can be overwhelming. But, it's good. Right?"

I swiped my brow nervously and trailed my fingertips down my face, letting them rest along my cheek.

"It's more than good." I finally deducted.

She gave me a quick upturned smirk and shrugged one shoulder. "Then breathe."

I exhaled the breath I hadn't noticed I was holding.

"Is it crazy that . . . Jacob and I talked about getting married already?"

She touched the hand I had resting on the counter briefly before fluttering back to the stove top. "Time is such a confusing construct for immortals. But, dear, if you feel ready for it and you love Jacob then why are you fretting?"

I sighed and collapsed my head into my arms. "I'm not . . . fretting. I'm just worried that if this wasn't happening, we wouldn't have talked about it."

She nodded and placed a plate of French toast and fruit in front of me. "If the circumstances were any different, you might not be discussing this. But, no one can know for certain so don't be concerned with other possibilities. Just live and make the choices you truly want to make."

I looked at her appreciatively, "Thank you, Grandma. You always know what to say."

She touched my cheek and nodded. "Renesmee, you know in your heart what you truly want. When I met your grandfather, I knew right then that I wanted to marry him and be with him for as long as I lived. It only took one glance."

I dug into my food and sighed happily, knowing her words rang similarities in my mind to when I saw Jacob for the first time.

It truly did only take one glance.


	17. Just Jacob and Nessie

**A/N:** 2 posts - 1 day. Whoops...but ah, so it begins...Nessie and Jake on the road. This time, it's much different than my previous plot line of Outcast. Some tearful goodbyes, the Cullen's off on a new adventure and several teases from me on what's to come for the future of this fic. xx **ALSO we are almost to 2,000 views...come on phantom readers, I know you would love to review :***

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Chapter Seventeen – Just Jacob and Ness

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_secrets i have held in my heart  
are harder to hide than i thought  
maybe i just wanna be yours  
i wanna be yours, i wanna be yours_

_-a__rctic monkeys, i wanna be yours_

I trailed behind mom and dad, slipping into the forest to hunt together one last time. No one had said a word yet, but how could we?

"Renesmee, I think we need to have a conversation." My mother blurted out, turning and taking my hand in hers, lacing our fingers together like we used to when I was much smaller.

I swallowed and nodded, keeping my eyes on the forest floor.

"We recognize that you and Jacob have . . . begun your adult relationship." She began, but abruptly stopped talking.

Dad made his bridge-pinching-nose-breathing sound when he heard my thoughts drift to what Jacob and I had done last night.

"Sorry." I muttered, glancing up at him.

"Renesmee, we have watched you grow up in seven short years." He stated curtly. "We had known this day would come – we just never expected it to be with Jacob Black, or to come so soon. It's irony in its most raw form that you two according to some cosmic werewolf law, are made for each other." He announced with a sigh.

"But?" I asked, knowing it was coming.

Dad shot me a pointed look, "_But_, we are truly thankful for him. It took many conversations with your mother to understand your feelings – I may not like it, but I do . . . approve. Jacob is someone we trust with you. We had never known who you might fall in love with, and while you grew we often speculated the possibility between a vampire and human, and both ideas seemed irresponsible. Jacob does make sense, in an unfortunate way."

"Edward." My mother chastised, shooting him a disapproving scowl.

He pursed his lips, "I can see and hear the bond between you two. The pull, his thoughts – I may not understand it, but I respect it. I know Jacob would do anything for you. Something a father could only hope his daughter would find."

I felt the tears prick at my eyes, but blinked them away. "You . . . aren't angry?"

Daddy sighed, deep and long. "No, Renesmee. I can't be angry. He makes you incredibly happy, and you feel safe with him. I don't want to pretend I like the fact that a dog –"

"_Edward_." My mother hissed again, interrupting him.

His eyes flashed to hers with an apologetic glance. "That _Jacob _is the one to do so . . . but what he's willing to do for you makes me comfortable with your relationship."

I let out a short laugh of relief. "Dad, I found it odd when you didn't intervene on the morning of my birthday when Jacob showed up after our fight, but it makes sense now."

Dad nodded and gave me a crooked grin, "I wanted to murder him for his thoughts but I knew you needed to hear what he had to say. I couldn't stop the two of you if I tried, honestly."

I stopped walking and pulled him into a hug, he staggered a bit before returning it. "Thank you." I whispered before pulling away and darting off towards the scent of mountain lion.

I sat with my father at the piano in our music room, gliding my fingers along to keys next to him, playing my mother's favorite song Clair de Lune. Jacob stood across the room, his arms crossed, leaning against the wall with a soft expression. I tried not to look at him, but how could I not? The sonata intensified and it felt like the telling of our story.

The rest of my family sat by idly, watching us together as they always did growing up. It was bittersweet, feeling like this might be the last time we ever did anything together for a long while. I had grown up imagining them to always be there, by my side. But now that fantasy had been shattered. I could try and pick up the pieces of the broken dream but I would rather move forward and begin my own mosaic. One where I'm not at the center of a power grab from our underworld leaders.

No one said a word, no one moved a muscle. They just let us play song after song, because when our ballads ended it would mean it was time to go – and that was just unreal.

Nahuel had left hours ago, needing to get back to Huilen and track down his father to see if his suspicions were true. He left before being truly informed of my future.

I had felt my own heartbreak at the possibility that others of our kind had died for the Volturi's cause. It wasn't right, but the Volturi never did anything at the expense of anyone's mercy.

I closed my eyes and prattled on the keys a bit rougher, pushing more emphasis into the next song. Nocturne, a song I knew like the back of my hands.

I exhaled the breath I was holding in as I played out the last 30 seconds of the dramatic piece, and held my finger on the last note. I opened my eyes and peered around the room, the couples in my family had been grasping onto one another, twirling around the room.

"It's time, Renesmee." My father solemnly said next to me, brushing curls that had fallen in my face behind my ear. He gave me a tender, crooked grin and kissed my forehead.

I bit back the tears, and pulled him into an embrace where we sat on the bench. "Plus que ma proper vie." I whispered into his shirt.

He tightened his arms around me and nodded against my head. "More than my own life."

I felt the cold, delicate hands of my mother on my shoulder and pulled away from my dad, and fell into the arms of my mother.

Saying goodbye felt like a scene from a movie. Long, silent embraces because no one knew what to say when you couldn't say 'I'll see you soon'. I took my time with each relative, memorizing their features, their scents, and their eyes. The golden color was the same, but each set of eyes truly did look unique to me. Grandma Esme's were calm and kind, and Grandpa Carlisle's shined with knowledge and compassion. Aunt Rosalie's were fierce and beautiful; where's Uncle Emmett's were childlike. Uncle Jasper's eyes held stories and wisdom; Aunt Alice's sparkled with curiosity and enthusiasm. Then there were my parents. My favorite pair, after Jacob's.

Momma's were maternal and strong, they held you captivated with their beauty. Daddies eyes were the most interesting. They shone with self awareness and true depth of what it means to love with no limits.

I would miss their golden gazes most of all.

"I love you all so much." I choked back, letting Jacob pull me into his arms for comfort. I relished in his heat after being tied up in the cold arms of my family for so long.

"We will call you when we can." Aunt Alice said, handing me a cell phone. I winced, knowing that might not happen for a while. They had devised a plan all afternoon, and it was not one I ever wanted. My family were going to leave behind their human like lifestyle, and become nomads. That's all I was allowed to know. I didn't know when they might ever come back to civilization. And the majority of them had no idea Jacob and I weren't staying in this town. No one was allowed to truly know besides my parents and Alice.

It was safer that way.

Alice predicted we would have two years, before the Volturi would try and show up here and recognize we were long gone. There were many scenarios she saw, based on different choices. The most problematic one was the choice my parents and Alice make to join the Volturi to shift Aro's attention away from me. A sacrifice; a testament that they truly did love me more than their own lives.

What would happen between now and then? What would Jacob and I be doing? Would we be married? Would we have children?

Jacob and I stood together in the living room, and watched my family walk out the front doors one by one until it was just Jacob, myself, and my parents.

"Please take care of her, Jacob." My mother pleaded softly, reaching out her hand and cupping my cheek. "Please protect her, love her, and cherish her."

Jacob nodded, "I will everyday of my life."

My dad turned around and ran his hands through his hair, until he was gripping his neck.

He faced us and his expression softened, but the pain was still there. "You have my blessing, Jacob." He announced, staring hard at Jacob's face.

Jacob stuck his hand out for a shake, and my father gripped his hand tightly. "You will do everything in your power to make her happy."

"Thank you, Edward. I promise."

The tears were running down my face now. I was so scared to watch them walk out that door. Thousands of memories blurred through my mind, and questions I had never asked them popped into my head. Would I ever get to play piano with my dad again, or read with my mother? Would they be there when I got married? Would they meet Jacob and I's children?

"Momma, daddy!" I sobbed, throwing myself into their joint embrace. They held me tightly as I sobbed. I placed my palms on each of their cheeks as I pulled away and showed them my first memories of them. My father's voice, how good it sounded to hear them repeat my name for the first time, the overwhelming feeling of being loved and protected by both of them.

"I love you." They told me in unison.

My mother sighed and kissed my palm. "You will have an extraordinary life, Renesmee."

I nodded and let my father wipe my tears away. "We will always be with you, even when we are not."

It happened in slow motion, as most dramatic moments in your life tend to. I pulled away, and took a step back. Watching them look at me one more time before blurring out of the room.

As always, my world stopped. It was quiet, still and so eerie knowing they all were truly . . . gone.

"Nessie?" Jacob spoke after a few moments, placing a warm hand on my waist. "They're gone." He confirmed for me, knowing I was listening for any trace they were still around.

"I know." I told him, the utter brokenness in my voice was heavy.

"I'm so sorry, Nessie." Jacob choked out, his voice breaking. I turned to face him to see tears in his eyes. "Your pain is my pain. I know how hard this is for you, but I promise. I will see to it everyday to make your life amazing."

I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled myself up on my tip toes, locking our lips together in a much needed kiss.

"I love you, my Jacob."

He rested his forehead against mine, and looked down at me with my favorite pair of eyes.

"I love you forever, my Nessie. Are you . . . ready?" He questioned nervously.

I gave him one of those weak chuckles people do to stop from crying more and nodded. "Not really, but I'm as ready as I'll ever be." He kissed my forehead and picked up our bags. Clothing, pictures, belongings I couldn't leave behind. My mothers favorite books, daddies sheet music from the '20's, Carlisle's medical records for me, tapes of home movies Rosalie insisted on making, jewelry from Alice, one of Jaspers war medals, Esme's recipe book and Emmett's favorite ring. Memento's of my family for me to cherish. I looked around at the place I had grown up in for the last four years and sighed, taking Jacob's outstretched hand and walking out the front door. I locked it behind us and followed Jacob to my car.

"Where's Seth?" I blurted out recognizing my friend was no where to be seen.

He tossed our bags in the open truck and shut it forcefully, before sliding into the driver's seat.

I got in the passenger side and watched him carefully. He started the car and shifted into drive, pulling away from the house. I looked at the floor of my rover, not wanting the memory of watching this life fade behind us.

"Seth is staying behind to handle a few things. We got an offer on the house already, so he's just working that out for me. He'll be home tomorrow afternoon."

Home. The word held a different meaning in my heart now. Home was no longer Canada, no longer these frosted woods. Home was going to be with Jacob, in La Push.

"I'm nervous to meet your family and friends." I admitted sheepishly. "What if they don't like me . . . because of what I am?"

He looked at me seriously and shrugged. "Nessie, your smile is contagious. It would be hard for even Leah to not like you. Besides, I don't care."

I furrowed my brows, "Seth's sister?"

He nodded, "Leah is . . . uh well, Leah. You'll see what I mean tomorrow night."

La Push was about a six-hour drive from us, and we would be there tonight before midnight . . . but one thing I hadn't thought about was where we would sleep when we got there. I fiddled with the hem of my sweater and peered up at Jacob.

"Where are we going to live Jacob?" I pointedly asked.

Jacob chuckled, "Well . . . we're going to stay with my dad for a bit, until the finalization of the sale from the house comes through and then I thought we could . . . build our own."

I looked at him with shock, "Build a house together?"

He grinned his sunshine smile at me. "Yeah, Ness. Whatever you want."

"I'm sorry that you and Seth did all that work building over summer . . . only to have to give it up."

Jacob shook his head. "Nessie, nothing matters to me besides you. That was just a place to sleep. You are my home."

I exhaled dramatically, blowing my cheeks out. "So . . . I meet them tomorrow?"

He nodded, "We're throwing a traditional bonfire, it's gonna be sort of like a welcome party. For us."

"Welcome party?"

"Yeah, it's like . . . well, its not really an initiation but it is. The elders tell stories of our tribe, which means you're being welcomed into the community. No outsiders allowed, your mom actually came to one of our bonfires before too."

"That sounds really special." I admitted, ignoring the tinge of jealously at the mention of my mother and Jacob hanging out together. _They were friends, and it was long before me._

"It is, besides – everyone's excited to meet the Alpha's girl." He waggled his eyebrows. "Seth went on and on about how cool you are to Emily over the phone, so the wolf girls are really excited to have another girl around."

I scoffed, "Wolf girls?"

"Yeah, the other imprints. Emily, Kim, and Rachel my sister. Claire too – but she's only 10 so she won't be there. Too late for her to be out." Jacob announced easily. I was still trying to wrap my head around this wolf business.

"Rachel is an imprint?!" I questioned excitedly.

He nodded, "Yup." Popping the 'P' at the end. "Paul imprinted on her, he was one of the first few to phase. They've been together for almost 8 years."

I bit my lip, 8 years was longer than I was alive for. I wondered if they had children.

"Do any of the imprint's have children?"

He nodded, "Yeah. Rachel and Paul are expecting twin sons soon. Emily and Sam have a little boy named Cheveyo. Kim and Jared have a new baby boy, too. Dakota."

I raised my brows, "A lot of boys."

Jacob snorted, "Yeah – it's the genes."

"Would you want a boy?" I asked quietly, looking up at him under my lashes.

Jacob grinned brightly, "Every man wants a son, but I think every man needs a daughter." Jacob announced proudly. "I would love a little girl just like you."

I blushed wildly and buried my face in my hands. "I was a weird kid."

"I mean; I think I would be pretty weird too if I had vampires raising me to be a mini genius by the time I was two." He joked, letting out a deep laugh.

My smile fell and I looked out the window. How had I already pushed my family out of my mind so easily?

"Ness – shit. I'm sorry, honey. I didn't mean to upset you." He swore, looking back and forth between me and the road.

I shook my head and met his gaze momentarily. "It's okay, Jake. I have to accept it; you know? I can't just break down if we talk about them."

He nodded, "I understand, just let me know if you don't want to – okay? I know this is hard, I don't want to make it harder."

I rested my head against the cool glass of the window and watched as we drove towards the border into Washington.

"Hey, Ness. Can you open the dash and get our passports?"

I furrowed my brows, but did as he said. I opened it and saw a manila envelope. I picked it up and peered inside, there were birth certificates, social security cards, multiple driver's licenses and four different passports.

"Holy shit Jacob." I muttered, "This is – this is crazy?! Why so many!" I picked up one of the passports, and looked it over. It said I was twenty-one and that my name was . . .

"Vanessa Carlie Black?" I questioned out loud, looking at Jacob in disbelief.

He blushed so deeply I could actually see it under his russet skin. "Yeah, Edward thought it was best just to . . . depict that we were married so we wouldn't have to try and update ID's after we actually did get married. And to change your name, just in case."

I opened the envelop again, and noticed another paper. I glanced at it quickly, "Jacob there's a blank marriage certificate in here, too."

His blush intensified, "Ye – yeah we gotta fill it out . . . after."

I licked my lips and let out a deep sigh. "I – wow. It didn't really set in until now."

"What didn't?"

I turned and smiled at him. "That I get to marry you. And we get to spend our lives together."

Jacob matched my grin and nodded, "Yeah, Ness. Me too. It's kind of crazy to think about, isn't it? Now, stick that envelop under the seat and hand me the two passports for us with the last name Black."

"We have others?" I asked, as I did what he said.

He nodded, "Yeah, we have another set with the last name Wolfe." He admitted sheepishly, "Just in case."

I laughed to myself, "Clever, dad."

Jacob pulled up to the border patrol booth, and handed them our passports. He made small talk as the officer looked them over, flashing his dashing grin and soon we were on our way.

"You're very charming, Jacob." I noted, nodded my head back towards the disappearing booth behind us.

He shrugged, "I'm a Black. Just wait 'til you meet dad."

I bit my lip, and looked back out the window. I let myself fall deep into my thoughts as we rode in comfortable silence. The idea that my family gave up the comfortable life they had led for so long just to keep me out of harms way tore my conscious apart. They had truly loved me so much; they would do whatever it took to keep me safe. I was going to miss the human experience of school, surprisingly. I had gone for so long, it felt weird to suddenly . . . not go. I had spent the last three years of my short life in that building. It had been weird to adjust to, but deep down I did like it. I had never made friends, but it was nice interacting with humans. What did that mean for my future life in La Push? Would I fit in with these other imprintee's? Maybe I could truly have all the human experiences I craved like going to the movies, or to the mall with girlfriends I_ wasn't_ related to. I was very excited to experience my first bonfire. I had never seen one, with a highly flammable family and all.

"Jacob?" I spoke up, my voice horse from the hours I had stayed silent.

He glanced over at me, "Yeah, Ness?"

"When we . . . get to La Push, I want to make a list of things we have to do."

He furrowed his brows but kept his eyes on the road, "Like what?"

I smiled to myself, "Things like go on a date, take a vacation, go to the movies . . . I don't know. Experiences."

He grinned, "Okay, baby. Whatever you want."

"And – I want to get _a job_."

Jacob's eyes widened, "What?"

I laughed and threw my head back, "Yeah! I want to . . . I want us to have as normal of a life as possible."

His eyebrows raised, "I mean . . . we just have to be careful . . ."

I shot him a look, "Jacob I've been hidden away most of my life and even something as trivial as going to school was exhilarating just because I got to interact with humans. It can be somewhere on the reservation, but I won't stay cooped up in a love shack with you."

"Oh, you won't?" He teased, waggling his eyebrows.

"Let's just pretend for a moment that I'm not half-vampire, and you're not a shape-shifter. We're just Jacob and Nessie. You work on cars and I . . . I can be a waitress!"

Jacob chuckled to himself, "Why a waitress?"

I shrugged, "I don't know, I always liked going to Jeb's so much for the atmosphere."

"Alright. Just Jacob and Ness it is."

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**A/N:** Not what you all expected, huh?! I liked the idea of Nessie and Jacob getting to run away together and have this secret love affair under the Volturi's noses….but that doesn't mean it'll work out. ;) Who wants a chapter in Jacob's point of view? Really debating it! Review and let me know if you'd want a Jacob POV.


	18. Where Jacob Contemplates Everything

**A/N:** Here's a little insight to how Jacob saw a few of our previous chapters go down.

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Chapter Eighteen – Where Jacob Contemplates (Pretty Much) Everything

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_and can you feel it too?  
__when I'm touching you  
__and when my hair stands on ends  
__it's saluting you  
__the blush in your cheeks  
__says that you bleed like me_

_-halsey, clementine_

Nessie was fast asleep, her delicate frame slouched in the seat with her head resting on the window. I never realized I would love seeing someone asleep. But, I loved watching Nessie sleep. The way her long black lashes curled out, her sighs she would let out here and there. Just beautiful.

I couldn't stop thinking, though. My mind was exploding with every memory as we drove away from where they all occurred. The worst of it, was at the forefront. Psychotic King Dracula himself, terrorizing my confidence in my ability to protect my Nessie.

oOoOo

"A – Aro." Her voice stuttered, she sounded so scared.

Don't worry, I won't let anything happen.

I nudged her behind me and tried to control my shaking. I couldn't phase this close to her, but damn if I didn't want to rip them apart.

King Dracula who was now being dubbed _Psychotic_ King Dracula for the smile he just gave us as he looked Seth and I up and down. He inhaled, probably taking in our scent, and raised his chalky brows. He turned to creepy blonde baby Dracula and I figured she was about to light my brain on fire. Great.

Nothing happened, no short of a relief. She did look damn near ready to combust, though.

"_Bella_." He chimed, rolling his tongue as he said her name. What is everyone's fascination with Bella? Fuck.

"Dear, sweet Renesmee. How you've grown. Come, child. Let me see." He held out his palm to her.

Uh, yeah. No. No way. I growled a warning and kept my arm in front of her.

"Jake – it's okay. I'm fine."

No, Nessie. I have to keep you safe. I won't move.

I felt her small warm hand lay on my arm, and felt the familiar tingling.

_I have to, please. Don't make this harder._

Her melodic voice rang in my head, making my knees almost go weak.

I huffed and dropped my arm, keeping my eyes locked with the red ones of Psychotic King Dracula as she passed. Right before she reached him, I grabbed her hand and pulled her back slightly. Look at me, my Nessie.

Her beautiful, chocolate eyes bore into mine.

_I love you_. She sent me with her amazing gift. God, I loved that. I love you. I love you.

I knew she couldn't hear me, so I squeezed her hand three times.

The feeling of her letting go was equivilant to what it must feel like to be thrown into a brick wall. It fucking hurt, and it was because I had no idea what was going to happen when she was out of my immediate reach.

I watched intently as she took his dead hand in her beautiful ones. Hands he didn't deserve to touch.

Come on, Nessie. Hurry up and come back to me.

I saw Edward twitch with a grimace, what was he seeing?

"Ah." King Bloodsucker breathed with a closed mouth smile. _Can I rip his head off now, Eddy?_

Edward shot me a look.

_It wouldn't take long, you know._

Before I could look at Edward for another reaction, Aro's red eyes flashed open and his creepy smirk turned into a full blown grin. He let out the weirdest, shrill sound of excitement, making my ears ring and the hair on my arms stand up.

"How very unique your life has been, truly _squisita_."

Edward let in a sharp inhale, and I watched as he gave Ness a quick glare. What was she thinking? Probably the same thing as me. That's my girl.

"Aro, you've come back to check, just as promised. I am surprised, though. You come with a small entourage." She said like she had a chip on her shoulder.

I fought the urge to laugh. She never talks like that . . . I mean, I know she's a walking genius but damn.

I wished so badly I could see her facial expressions, it sounded like she was smiling. He doesn't deserve to see your smile, Nessie.

"Need I anymore company just to visit my dear, old friends?" He questioned, motioning to her family.

I should definitely just kill them right now.

"As of yesterday, I've reached full maturity. Nahuel's predictions were correct. I am non-venomous, and not dangerous to humans."

_Why are we even entertaining these creeps? _I asked Edward in my mind, but he didn't even look at me.

King Dracula nodded slowly, and stepped towards Seth and I. "Yet he got one thing wrong. Your ability to conceive, correct? Your human side should have kicked in, beginning your eternity of fertility. But, you remain barren and have not had a cycle."

I growled low and menacing. Do not talk to my imprint like that. Her fertility is no one's business but ours. She's mine. _Mine._

"You also say you're not dangerous to humans? But, I wonder, what of these . . . wolves . . . you have accompanied yourself with? Your mind shows me great beasts, but before me stands men. How is that safe?" He slowly cautioned. Seth shook a bit more violently, but I shot him a look to say 'cut that shit out' even though I wanted to rip them apart just as badly as he did.

My attention went right back to Nessie. Her body turned as she followed King Dracula. Let me see your face, honey.

"They are spirit wolves." She said with sass.

"Renesmee. You defend them honorably. I sense it is due to your . . . connection with this one." He nodded to me, but didn't look away from her face.

I clenched my fists tight and leaned forward. Our connection? She must have shown him.

"What was the word, again?"

"Imprint." Her voice rang out in the quiet room. I took no time in snatching her waist and pulling her against my chest. I inhaled her sweet citrus scent; thankful to have her so close again. Safe. She's safe right here.

King Dracula manically laughed._ Seriously, Edward? It's twelve against three. This would be over in seconds._

"Imprint. What a humorous word. A word that carries much greater meaning to the two of you, than most would understand at a surface level. It is most interesting to me that they are nothing like the children of the moon, as I would expect them to be."

I'll fucking kill you if you mock our bond again, pasty. But . . . what the fuck are children of the moon? More creepy vampires?

Edward stepped towards King Dracula, his arms crossing over his chest. "We have broken no rules, Aro. Jacob and Seth are not children of the moon; they are shape-shifters. There is more to our supernatural world than we have ever known possible. They are not threats, and are controlled. They shift whenever they please, and do not have bloodlust. They live their lives as humans, and only shift when necessary."

Oh, damn. That's a compliment.

"I see, and am truly . . . intrigued. What is deemed necessary, may I ask?" His creepy red eyes flashed to meet my own. I tightened my grip on Nessie, and pulled her even closer.

I wasted no time with my threat. "When we feel threatened. If we feel the need to protect our tribe, ourselves or _our mates_ \- we will do it."

Doctor Vamp moved, making Aro turn towards him. Good, stop looking at me before I rip you apart. "Aro, as you can see; she's not a threat to our kind. Neither are Jacob and Seth. Renesmee has grown and understands the full capacity of our laws, and the shifters have a similar set of rules. They would never expose our world, seeing as how they are apart of it."

King Dracula looked irritated. "Always such empathy, my dear old friend. Reaching an outstretched hand to those who do not walk the same path of life is a great example why I admire you so. When it comes to Renesmee, I never had a doubt you would lead her down the path of knowledge and compassion. She is truly a remarkable example of how powerful we can be when we put out minds to it. I am surprised, however, that you have not tried to push the limits of her gift."

"Push the limit?" She blurted out.

What the fuck did that mean?

He nodded and clasped his hands together with a clap, "I had expected it to have grown with you, but maybe you are not as gifted as I assumed."

"We never tried, we thought it was unnecessary." Bella spoke softly, blurring over to stand in front of us. Everyone was slowly becoming more on edge with this uncomfortable situation. I had a feeling some shit was about to go down.

"Yet you posses a better range of shield now than the last time we met? What is the necessity of expanding your mind, but not your own offspring?" He questioned with a raised brow.

This dude was seriously about to get fucking smited.

Eddy's lip curled, but he calmed quickly. "Aro, I believe you already know why."

"I have my suspicions. Is it because you were frightened to believe she might be able to control another's thoughts? I'm sure you recognize that to penetrate one's mind with her own is the path towards mind domination, is it not?"

Path towards mind domination? What is this, fucking Star Wars? Nessie would never dominate anyone's mind . . . well. I mean . . . maybe my own . . . in a totally non-creepy-only-sexual way.

_Not now Jacob!_ I screamed internally.

"Don't look so frightened, dear. Come, show me again. Test your mind on me."

Yeah, no. Over my fucking body. I tensed and stepped back, pulling Nessie with me.

She shoved me off and walked away from me, pushing past Bella.

No! Nessie!

She took his dead hand and stiffened as he closed his eyes. "Show me a false memory."

I felt useless as I stood there watching Nessie's face twitch in pain. The beads of sweat fell from her face as she held onto that sick bastard Aro's hand. It took no time for her to grow uncomofrtable. I noticed as the other creepy escort, who I've deducted to be a hybrid like Ness, was staring intently at her. His face twisted into concentration.

What the fuck was he doing? No way. Seth gripped my shoulder, stopping me from stepping forward.

"He's making her see things . . ." Edward trailed off. I couldn't take my eyes off her. My Nessie twitching and shaking, obviously in pain. I could feel it in my bones. It didn't matter that it wasn't physical, it still hurt like hell.

Nahuel, Nessie's creepy friend who gets a little too touchy and stare-y for my liking glared hard at the blonde hybrid. "Like Zafrina from the Amazon."

Great, more vampires that could do this to my Nessie. I'll fucking kill them all.

"Unnecessary, Jacob."

I snarled loudly, but Seth and Bella shoved me back.

"Get your fucking hands off her!"

Aro's eyes snapped open, but my Nessie didn't move.

"If you try anything, he will dissolve the nerve's in her brain. My dear Bella, try as you might – your precious gift cannot hide her mind from Emilian." Psychotic King Dracula warned, eliciting a louder growl from me and Edward.

"Edward!" Bella shouted this time, unnecessary when all of us had excellent hearing. It was purely out of emotion.

"It's . . . true. He's done it before." Edward concluded, and dropped to his knees. We all watched in agony, frozen to our spots. King Dracula's warning was clear and simple, this new half-vampire could destroy Nessie's brain if he wanted if we tried to intervene - and Edward saw proof of that in his thoughts. My poor, sweet Nessie. Helpless and probably going through fucking hell. Monkey man flew over to me, and helped Seth and Bella hold me back as I violently shook, growls erupting from my chest. I needed to get her away. How do I get her away?

"Please control that thing." The baby Dracula sneered.

"She's has enough!" I snarled, flinching forward when I saw Nessie begin to tremble. "Let her go!"

How can I help you, Nessie? How can I fix this?

"She's about to come back." Edward announced cautiously. Bella and him waited on either side of her. I shoved Seth and Emmett off and stepped behind her, my shaking immediately stopping as I touched her waist

Her body went slack and she fell backwards, right into my arms.

"What did you do to her!" I screamed, pulling her closer.

I kneeled down, holding her against my chest. "Nessie, Nessie - are you okay? I'm here. Don't be scared." I smoothed her hair out and kissed her all over.

She was violently shaking, tremors rolling off of her in waves. "My Jacob." She whispered, her eyes opening briefly to look at me. They rolled back and she went slack. Her breathing slowed and for a second, her heart actually skipped a beat. No. No!

Edward stood up quick and faced Aro. "What did he do to her?" He snarled through clenched teeth.

"Edward, be calm. She will recover. Emilian only showed her the power she could posses, the things she might be able to do. He can manipulate a gift, but I'm sure you figured that out watching what happened in her mind." King Dracula said with a wave of his hand.

"She is never going anywhere with you; she doesn't have what you're really here to check for."

What did they want in my Nessie?

"It is a pity. I had high hopes for young Renesmee. Ah, but such is life. Come Jane, Emilian. We have seen enough." Aro flashed his eyes to my Nessie, then to the rest of the Cullens. "I do apologize for the disorder that you may feel occurred. Emilian is still young, and learning his way. Until we see you again, Cullens. It was lovely as always, Carlisle."

They blurred out of the house, and Nessie literally began to convulse in my arms.

"Her mind is going absolutely haywire." Edward said, rushing to her and I. He placed a hand on her cheek and she flinched away. Her eyebrows threaded together, and she buried her head into my chest. I've got you, baby.

He snapped his hand back. "My . . . skin . . . she got frightened. She smells us but doesn't recognize it's us. She thinks they're still here."

I stood, lifting her in my arms and cradling her. I looked around before striding across the room and up the stairs. Get Nessie out. I have to get her out.

"Jacob!" Seth yelled after me, trailing behind me. I scaled the stairs quickly, and found myself sniffing for her room. I nearly kicked the door down and rushed to her bed. I laid her down and cupped her sweaty face in my hands, searching for any sign she would be okay.

"Nessie, honey. It's just me. It's Jake. They're gone." I pleaded, hoping she would just open her beautiful eyes.

I could smell her family outside her room, and I could tell she could too. She shook harder the closer they got.

"Get out!" I yelled as I snapped my head back to glare at them. "Go!"

I climbed into the bed with her and pulled her against me, I would run my fingers over her face a million times if it meant she might know I'm here.

"She does." Edward said sadly, standing in the doorway with Bella. I tried to get angry that they didn't listen to me, but I couldn't blame them. She was just as much theirs as she was mine.

"We're . . . going to leave and check the perimeter. I can't put her through this. Her subconscious is a mess. We'll be far enough away to come back if you need us to. Bella will . . . shield you when we do come back. I don't want to see."

I nodded, not even taking my eyes off my precious Nessie. Nothing else mattered.

oOoOo

I shook my head aggressively, Jesus - I had to get myself under control. Nessie needed me to be strong. But truthfully? I felt weak. I felt undeserving of her. I had a simple task; protect her. And, I couldn't. I almost lost her because of my ignorance, then I almost lost her again because I could barely keep myself in check despite the warnings of what would happen if I pulled her away from King Bloodsucker.

It wasn't fair, truth be told. Uprooting Nessie like this. Taking her away from her family; her comfortable environment. Her normalcy in her unreal world. I had done that. I was doing it.

She said she was happy to come with me; she loved me . . . she needed me. We all knew it was our best option. But, that didn't mean it still felt fucked up. I had been dreaming of bringing her back home since the day we met – but it was never like this. It was never because we were running.

oOoOo

I sat there, staring at her like a dumbstruck idiot – but how could I not? She was beautiful, radiantly amazingly beautiful. She bit her bottom lip in that way I loved so much, just wishing I could pull it out of her teeth with my lips like I fantasized about. She clutched a book to her chest, her gorgeous head of curly hair sprawled out on the floor around her. She stared into the fire and her lip twitched into a smile, then a frown.

What was my Nessie thinking of? Was she thinking about me like I was thinking about her? God, I just wanted to scoop her up and kiss her so bad. I wanted to be near her, drink her in, smell every inch of her skin . . . fuck. This imprint shit is intense. Every second I wanted her – even in my sleep.

I imagined she daydreamed about me. Just like I did about her. I thought a lot about how I would ask her to marry me, and she would say 'Yes! Yes, Jacob!'. How I would bring her home to La Push, and we would get married on First Beach. We'd go home to our home we built together, and I would take her.

Yes. I would take her every possible way. Anything she wanted, anyway she wanted. I would give it to her.

Her eyes drifted towards me, and I flashed mine back down to the papers I was pretending to grade.

Seriously, I was pathetic. A pathetic love-sick puppy, who had an incredibly sexy half-vampire student a foot away from him . . . just dangling in front of him like a meal. It was a cosmic joke.

I had pined after her fucking mother for years, wondering, searching – hoping she was still a human. And then the first day I was determined to find her at that godforsaken school . . . I met Nessie. And, everything changed. The steel cables I had reined in on Bella, snapped. I had an epiphany, a dramatic realization that I never loved Bella – not like I would love Nessie. I loved the idea of Bella. Like she was a damsel in distress, and I had a hero complex.

Meeting Nessie brought all of the confused puzzle pieces together. Why I had been drawn to Bella, why I felt the need to protect her and be around her. Because . . . she would bring me Nessie.

Then, I felt guilt. Undeniable, unapologetic guilt. I could have had Nessie years ago. I could have let go of my anger and gone to their damn wedding to see my best friend off, and then be there for the birth of my imprint. I could have been there for every moment of her life. I should have been there.

But, imprint magic has all it's reasoning that I will never understand.

My attention hyper-focused on Nessie when her fluttering heart sped up so incredibly quickly, and I saw in the corner of my eye she was staring at me. Biting that damn rose bud pink bottom lip of hers.

"Hey, Ness. What are you thinking about?" I blurted out, hoping – praying she would say 'you, Jacob'.

She abruptly dropped the book she was holding in front of her face onto her chest and blushed crimson. I loved her blush.

"I was reading." She said a little too quickly, her blush deepening if that was even possible. God, so beautiful. Nessie, you are so beautiful.

I snorted in response, and raised an eyebrow. I knew she was lying. What were you thinking about, honey? You can tell me.

I set the papers down and looked at her deeply. Taking in every one of her perfect features, lingering on her lips a little too long. She didn't notice. "You're really a terrible liar."

She furrowed those perfectly sculpted brows of her and narrowed her eyes like a smite kitten. I fought the urge to grin. I loved sassy Nessie. Hell, I love every version of my imprint but sassy Nessie was my favorite.

"How would you know I wasn't reading? Were you watching me or something?" Shit, shit. Shit. Did she see me ogling over her?

"I mean – yes and no." I mumbled, picking the papers back up. Trying to hide the blush that was rising on my face was hard. She made me squirm in my place with that damned look she gave me. Her chin tucked in, her beautiful chocolate eyes looking up, framed by long, black wispy lashes. She was the most beautiful woman in the world. She was mine.

I heard her scoff, and then suddenly she was right in front of me, practically in my lap. She snatched the damned papers out of my hands, our fingers brushing against one another like a spark. My eyes snapped to hers. Did you feel that too, honey?

I swallowed thickly, and cleared my throat. She was so close. Her wonderful scent engulfed me. My Nessie smelled amazing. Like oranges, bergamot root and brown sugar. She smelled like what I imagined heaven to smell like.

Come closer, Nessie.

"Your heart rate . . . changed. It got faster, so I was just making sure you were . . . okay." I managed to get out, my voice almost cracking under the pressure of her beautiful eyes.

She inhaled deeply, my eyes darted to her chest that heaved with the motion. And then I drifted my eyes to her breasts – okay nope. Can't go there. Not with her right here.

"I'm right here, Jake." Me too, Ness. "I'm fine. I just was thinking about . . . well – you. Wolf you, I mean."

Wait, what?

She was thinking about me? Oh, fuck. Ohhh, fuck. My heart began hammering in my chest, and excitement rose through me. I was on her mind. Why did that make me act like a fool?

I watched as she pulled away and sat back, tucking her knees under her amazing behind. She cast her gaze downwards and began to pick at the rug.

Nessie, you can look at me. Don't be nervous. I was thinking about you, too.

"You were thinking about me?" I asked, curiously. A smile tugged at the corners of my lips.

I couldn't fight it. My imprint was thinking about me.

"Didn't I just say that?" She sassily mumbled with a huff.

Yes, I was right. Sassy Nessie is my favorite.

I grinned and crossed my ankle over my knee. Gotta remain nonchalant, she can't know that I'm freaking out on the inside. My arms went behind my head and I sighed. Calm, cool, and collected Jacob.

"I know, I just wanted to hear it again." I winked and dropped my arms, picking my papers and pen back up.

I forced myself to look away. I could still see her reaction though. Her wonderful mouth dropped open, forming a perfect little 'o'. She flung backwards onto the carpet and clutched her book like she was holding on for dear life.

That was a good sign, yeah?

Her heart rate didn't relax; it was thrumming so loudly it was beckoning me in. Closer to her.

I had to go to her. I needed to feel her. Fuck it all to Hell. Daddy vamp wasn't here, and I didn't care. I was done pretending I didn't want to be engulfed in her every second. I shuffled the papers as I stared at her, and her head snapped in my direction.

Are you waiting for me, Nessie?

I kneeled myself onto the floor next to her amazing body. She was held tight. Her legs clenched together, her arms holding her sides – but her hair was still wild. I loved her hair. The smell, the look – it was amazing. I rolled over and laid right next to her.

This was the closest I had really ever been. I laid next to her in a somewhat intimate and compromising position. We had hugged, sure. Awkward side hugs that screamed 'you shouldn't be doing this!' but nothing as close as laying next to her. Where I belonged.

I heard her breath hitch in her throat when my arm settled next to hers, our skin brushing against each other. Millions of fireworks went off, like every nerve ending could feel her heat. I had never felt heat until I touched her, and my God it was wonderful.

Are you reacting the same way, Nessie?

I turned my head, and inhaled. Oranges. I felt my eyes darken, the lust was growing inside me. She made me react in ways I never knew possible. "Are you excited for your birthday?" I asked, my voice coming out huskier than I intended.

Her face reddened and then I smelled it. I couldn't ignore that. She was aroused. Had I done that to her? Nessie, do you want me like I want you?

She looked away from me, and my eyes flashed to her thighs. She clenched them tighter together.

Oh, yes. The wolf inside me howled. I had to of be the one doing this to _my_ imprint.

"I'm excited." She choked out, her face still turned away from me.

Edward be damned. She wanted me, she had to – right?

God, I wanted to kiss her so fucking badly.

I lifted my palm to her cheek, and tilted her face towards mine. I could close the distance easily.

"Nessie . . ." I began, but trailed off.

Edwards fucking face popped into my mind, forcing me to drop my hand hastily and burry it behind my head. Fucking leech. Making me promise not to tell her until tomorrow. Why did it matter if she was fucking seven or not?

I groaned internally, feeling like a huge fucking pervert.

My imprint wasn't even seven years old. Hell, she didn't _look_ seven though. She looked like a god damn runway model, all curvy, delicious and beautiful. And mine.

I twitched when I felt her skin creep against mine. I tensed without realizing it and held my breath. Nessie was fucking trying to cuddle me. God, damn it, fucking, hell. Little Jake DO NOT appear. Whatever you do, do not move a goddamned dick muscle.

She laid her amazing head of hair on my chest. I stifled the groan rising in my chest. She's so close . . .

Then she did the unimaginable. She pressed herself closer, her stomach flush against my side. The skin we both had exposed from our shirts riding up brushed against each other. Sparks everywhere. How was this even fair?

Oh, God. Her leg hitched around mine, securing me against her. I could smell her, feel her and almost taste her on my tongue she was so close.

Then all of me crumpled. I melted; dying right there from overdosing on Nessie. Is that even possible?

"I promise, I'm excited." She murmured.

Relax, Jake. She's here, with you. This is what you want. This is what you need.

I inhaled sharply, exhaling my dramtic sigh. I tentatively dropped my arm to her back, letting myself fall into her. Molding with her. My palm rested between her shoulders – I could feel her amazing hot skin through the delicate material of her t shirt. Oh, Nessie. You feel so good.

Involuntarily I began to rub her back. I let my fingers glide across her skin. She felt so good.

Her hips buckled against me, and my eyes almost rolled into my fucking brain. Her arousal was growing, making it so hard for me to relax. This was fucking testing my will. I moved my mouth to the top of her hair and tried to be inconspicuous as I inhaled her scent. I needed to memorize this moment. I drifted my hand to her curls and moved them out of her face.

"Are you okay, Nessie?"

She sighed and pushed away from me. No! Come back!

She sat with her back facing me, her beautiful head burrowed into her delicate arms.

"No – yes." She stuttered. "I don't know. I've been meaning to talk to you."

I didn't even think, I just reacted. My girl needed me, right? You need me, honey. I'm right here. I sat up and swiveled her around to face me. What do you need, Ness?

"What's wrong, Ness? You can tell me anything – I promise."

She glanced up, her beautiful chocolate orbs sparkled.

"I get these . . . knots. If that's what you could call them, and it's . . . strange. It's never happened before, until recently. It makes me feel weird." She told me quietly.

Wait, what?

"Do you feel okay, are you feeling sick when this happens?" I sputtered out, my voice giving away how alarmed I felt.

She sighed and dropped her gaze to her own feet, playing with the hem of those jeans that hugged her legs amazingly. Within seconds, she was looking back at me. I was staring at her and she caught me, but I didn't care.

"It's . . . not sick. It feels nice, sometimes." She whispered, so quietly if I were human I wouldn't have heard her.

Oh. I knew exactly what she meant.

My sweet, innocent Nessie. Of course you're confused.

I sighed, and ran my hair through my tangled hair then scrubbed my face. My hair fell right back into my face so I pulled it back, securing it in a bun with the elastic around my wrist.

How do I tell my imprint that she's getting fucking turned on without sounding like a creep?

Hey, Nessie. You're aroused, and I smell it. But, you probably don't know what it is because your vampy parents didn't think their little girl was capable of lust.

Wait, and oh yeah - one question, is it for me? Are you lusting for me? I mean, who else?

Maybe Seth, but . . . no. There was no way, right?

"Renesmee, I don't think – I mean – maybe your mom is best for this conversation?"

She scoffed and let out a little growl.

Oh, fuck. That's new and so incredibly hot.

"I want to talk to you about this, Jacob." She spat out, her voice raising as she said my name.

Sassy Nessie: 3, Stupid Jacob: 0.

"I think I understand, Nessie. I . . ."

How do I say this? How do I even begin to explain without confessing I wanted to be on every inch of her glorious skin?

Her heart fluttered, forcing me to snap my eyes back to her. "Well?"

Ugh, Nessie. This attitude has got me so whipped.

I nervously rubbed my hands on my thighs, trying to distract my perverted thoughts. "You get knots, yeah? And it feels . . . good?"

"Yes."

"Is this happening when . . . someone touches you?" Please say yes. Say it's me. Say 'Jacob, its you'.

She sucked in shallow breath and looked away. "Most of the time."

Ouch.

She was blunt. She would have told me it was me, right? "A guy?" I asked, not even capable of hiding the hurt on my face.

"Yes."

Our eyes remained in contract for a long moment, until I broke away and stared past her into the fire. It wasn't for me. It definitely wasn't for me. It felt like daggers were digging into my soul. Rejection flared up. Nessie was always honest. She said the first thing that came to her mind.

"Renesmee." I started, not even feeling comfortable using my nick name for her. "Its normal, don't worry. It happens to everyone."

I watched her fall back against the floor. "Okay, Jacob. Whatever."

Okay, ow. That stung even worse. Was she mad at me?

"Nessie – what? It's okay, you don't have to be embarrassed. I won't say anything." I told her hastily.

She remained silent. Yup, she was mad.

"Nessie, I promise. Best friends, yeah? They don't break promises."

Please say yes. Please don't leave me.

"Yeah, okay." She mumbled, and sat up, turning away from me.

No, honey. It's okay. I'm here. Instinctively I reached out and pulled her into me. I needed to comfort her.

"This okay?" I questioned, realizing it probably wasn't.

She sighed and nodded. "Yep, it's fine."

We stared into the fire together, and I couldn't help imagine what she would look like naked in front of it. My fantasy of taking Nessie on the floor was pretty primal, and my imagination ran pretty far with it. Dominating her, biting her, sucking on her skin.

Suddenly the fantasy was blaring in my mind, unlike it had ever been before. I could literally feel how she felt, I felt her emotions. Her lust. My imagination was running rampant. She froze and yanked her hand away, and her eyes flooded to mine.

Oh, fuck. Did she see that? No way. How did she see that?!

I pushed myself away and stood up quickly, staring down at her. Oh, God. No, no, no.

oOoOo

Her beautiful voice brought me back down to earth. I missed her voice. "Jacob?"

I startled at the sound of her voice. She had fallen into a peaceful sleep after we had gotten off the ferry, which left me to recall every moment we ever had together. I couldn't stop thinking about how I almost didn't have her because of my own stupidity. But, I didn't need to think about that anymore because I did have her. I had her forever.

And fuck, that scared me shitless. Would I make her happy? Could I provide for her the ways she was used to? She grew up getting everything she ever wanted and somehow wasn't even close to a spoiled brat. But, I wanted to spoil her. I wanted to give my Nessie the world.

The way she said my name almost always drove me over. Almost. Not as badly as when I had my hands inside her. Yeah, that fucking did me over.

I looked at her, taking her in. Mine.

"Yeah, Ness?" I asked, trying to compose myself.

"When we . . . get to La Push, I want to make a list of things we have to do."

Whatever you want, angel. I will do whatever you want.

"Like what?"

Humor me.

I saw her smile out of the corner of my eye. "Things like go on a date, take a vacation, go to the movies . . . I don't know. Experiences."

I can do that Nessie. I'll take you on a hundred dates, a thousand vacations. We will go everywhere you want, as long as it's safe. "Okay, baby. Whatever you want."

"And – I want to get a job."

Wait, what?

"What?" I blurted out, looking at her with surprise. My Nessie surprised me every moment.

She laughed a twinkling, mischievous laugh and threw her head back, "Yeah! I want to . . . I want us to have as normal of a life as possible."

Normal? Us? "I mean . . . we just have to be careful . . ."

She shot me her sassy kitten look, such a minx. "Jacob I've been hidden away most of my life and even something as trivial as going to school was exhilarating just because I got to interact with humans. It can be somewhere on the reservation, but I won't stay cooped up in a love shack with you."

Oh, so she knew what my plans were.

"Oh, you won't?" I teased, waggling my eyebrows at her suggestively.

"Let's just pretend for a moment that I'm not half-vampire, and you're not a shape-shifter. We're just Jacob and Nessie. You work on cars and I . . . I can be a waitress!"

I snorted, but was actually getting turned on by the thought of Nessie in a little apron. "Why a waitress?"

Her delicate shoulders shrugged. "I don't know, I always liked going to Jeb's so much for the atmosphere."

I nodded. I would give her anything she asked for.

"Alright. Just Jacob and Ness it is." I confirmed. She squealed in delight and threw herself at me, showering me in little pecks that left a tingling sensation on my skin.

I would never get used to that.

* * *

**A/N**: If you like Jacob POV, review and let me know! I have a few other chapters I've written from his perspective in my vaults I'd love to post if you liked them!


	19. She's Come Undone

**A/N**: Hi all! Sorry for the delayed update, this was harder to write for me! I worked 40 hours this weekend as well so was a bit exhausted to say the least. Thank you to my loyal reviewers **SnapeSnapeSevRusSnape**, **DxGRAYxMAN** as always! This chapter touches on how Renesmee struggles with the trauma of her mental attack, so its a lot of inner monologue from her, and an insight on how well Jacob can compose himself for his imprint, regardless if he's also struggling.

* * *

Chapter Nineteen – She's Come Undone

* * *

_the delicate beginning rush_  
_the feeling you can know so much_  
_without knowing anything at all_  
_and now that I can put this down_  
_if I had known what I know now_  
_I never would have played so nonchalant_

_-taylor swift, come back...be here_

_oOoOo_

"Alright, just Jacob and Ness it is."

I squealed happily and threw myself at him, kissing his hot skin over and over.

"Thank you, Jacob."

I smiled to myself briefly, but then frowned. Finding my thoughts dipping past the bubble of immediate happiness I felt being with Jacob the last few hours.

Jacob shot me a glance of concern, "What's the matter baby?"

I sucked in my breath as my brain bombarded itself with flashes of my memories from the last month. It was like my brain was rapidly firing off, triggering this . . . episode. Reminding me that my happiness could be stolen away.

I found myself flying through every moment, and recognizing every point in which my life was shifting. When I found out about my parents past, how the thought of Jacob scared me. When my parents first told me who he was; what he was. Then when we met, and how all of that fear dissipated. My mind flashed around in no particular order, just ping-ponging through memories; most of them surrounding Jacob.

"I – I don't know." I mumbled out. I shook my head and the thoughts slowed down. "I don't know what just happened . . . it was like . . . I was using my gift on myself. Ugh. That doesn't even make sense."

"Show me, then. Show me what just happened." He demanded, obviously concerned for me.

My eyes flickered to his, then to the road. I hesitated at first, but reached my hand out to lay on to his forearm. I opened the connection and pushed the erratic thoughts into his head.

He nodded and furrowed his brows, "Are you okay now?"

I pursed my lips, "I think so."

Jacob sighed long, and took my left hand in his right one, bringing it to his mouth and kissing the top of it. "I know the last few days have been incredibly stressful, but I promise once we get to La Push it will all slow down. We'll be able to relax and just . . . hang out. Okay?"

I nodded feebly, but couldn't get out of my own head.

I could tell we were about to pass through Forks, and would be to La Push in a little under 30 minutes. Time had gone by so quick, that I barely registered I was extremely sleepy, but my nerves and anxieties were keeping me awake. A million scenarios were running through my mind now. What would I say to Billy? I hadn't even thought about that yet, amongst the millions of other things my mind occupied itself with tonight. Would he accept me for who I am? What about the other wolves? My anxiety deepened, as well as my self doubt.

I had only ever known how to truly coexist with my family. Being around humans at school was so much different than the close knit community that ran through the reservation that I had heard so many stories of. Here, I would be surrounded by these humans almost all day, everyday. That's a lot different than a block of seven hours. I never had trouble with my thirst, but that could change. What if I did something bad?

I held my arms crossed, pulling my bottom lip between my teeth and nervously bounced my knee trying to work though my thoughts.

"You okay, Ness?"

I startled and dropped my arms, "Hm? Yeah." I insisted quickly, flashing him an unconvincing smile. I certainly couldn't tell him I was second guessing pretty much my whole existence.

He dropped his hand to my thigh and squeezed it gently, "He'll love you. They all will."

I sighed and shot him a concerned glance. I'll just go with that. He doesn't have to know everything else I'm worried about, right?

"What if they don't? I'm still a vampire." I mumbled softly.

"Yeah, it's unorthodox. But, the pack knows how it goes; the elders understand. The Alpha's imprint is the most important."

I grumbled and dropped my head back against the head rest. "I just don't want to feel like any more of a freak than I already am."

Jacob grabbed my hand and tugged, forcing me to look at him. "Renesmee – you are not a freak. You're incredible, and I think you'll have a wonderful impact on everyone's lives in La Push." He pulled my hand to his mouth and kissed my palm gently. "Everything happens for a reason."

I nodded weakly and shifted myself so I could lean against his shoulder. He always knew what to say to me. How did he know? How did he understand me in such a short amount of time? I watched intently as Jacob turned onto the road that led into La Push, passing the welcome sign. A million knots bundled in my stomach, and I actually felt my palms begin to sweat.

"Jake." I whispered, feeling the sting of tears prick my eyes. I buried my face into his arm and inhaled, using his scent to calm my nerves.

"We're fine, honey."

I sighed heavily and pulled away, giving him a weak smile. "Okay. We're okay." I said mostly to myself.

The car came to a stop in front of a little red house, and I froze when I saw Jacob's best friends Quil and Embry standing next to Billy on the small front porch. From all the pictures I had see of the pack men, and some of the stories I've heard - I knew Jacob would be ecstatic to be reunited with the two of them most of all. I watched Jake as his face spread into a huge grin and he turned off the car.

"Come on, Ness!" He said, the excitement in his voice making my heart swell. I had been so busy worrying about myself that I hadn't even registered until now how good this must feel for Jacob to be home after so long. A home he was coming back to because of me.

That's another good thing to come of this. I had to get out of my head with all these worries.

He got out of the car and jogged around to my side, pulling the door open and helping me out. He whisked me into his body and wrapped me up in a tight hug, leaning down and kissing my temple.

"I love you." He whispered, resting his forehead against mine. I bit my lip and closed the distance, kissing him with everything I had. All my worries almost melted away when I felt his lips.

Almost.

"Wooo!" Someone hollered, forcing us to break away from each other and smile bashfully.

Jacob wrapped his arm around me and led me towards the house. As soon as we were walking up the ramp, he let go of me to grab both men into tight hugs, smacking each other on the backs.

"Jake, it's so good to see you." Quil exclaimed, his mouth spread in a big grin. Quil was conventionally attractive, and had an innocence to his face with his round features and big dark eyes.

"Quil." Jacob boomed, resting his hand on his shoulder. "How are you? How's Claire?"

He smiled even brighter at Jacob. "Amazing. She just turned eleven! I can't believe it. She's growing like a weed these days."

Jacob had told me about Quil's child imprint Claire, and the extent of their somewhat complex relationship. I had found it odd that he imprinted on a toddler, but as Jacob told me many times before; the spirits bring imprints together for a bigger purpose than just what appears at the surface. I had my own theories on his imprinting path. Jacob had told me Quil had a hard time coming to terms with his shifting journey, and it happened when he was just fifteen. He was still a child, who suddenly had to change his life and become a protector to hundreds of people. It made me wonder if he found Claire so he could retain childhood innocence, and grow into his role.

I had yet to figure out why Jacob imprinted on me, but I didn't want to spend too much time questioning it. Again, I was recognized being a half-vampire, half-human hybrid in love with a 'werewolf' was a bit odd. In all logical reasoning it made no sense; we were supposed to be mortal enemies.

"Jake, man. It's been boring around here without you." Embry told him, bringing me out of my deep thoughts. He had a straight, wide jaw and heavy brows and looked much more serious in person than in all of the photos I'd seen.

Jacob towered over both of them, by quite a few inches but they were still extremely tall compared to my shorter stature at 5'4''. My eyes landed on Billy, who was staring at me intently. He had a warmth to his eyes, and long black and gray hair hidden behind a black Stetson hat.

"Hi, Billy. I'm Renesmee." I spoke, ignoring the men's reunion and extending my hand to his. I needed to make a good impression, and waiting for Jacob to introduce us wasn't how I envisioned making that happen. He blinked a few times and then gave me a warm smile that looked just like my Jacobs. My eyes flashed to Jake and his two friends who stopped and stared at me when I spoke. I hadn't meant to, but my voice came out melodic and breathy as it usually did when I talked with most humans. It made them more comfortable if I sounded . . . innocent.

"Renesmee." He repeated, and grasped my hand with his two rough ones. "Jacob has told me so much about you. I've been looking forward to meeting you."

I blushed hard, and dipped my head down so my hair fell past my face. I bit my lip when I lifted my eyes to look at him again. "The feeling is mutual. Thank you for allowing me to stay in your home, myself and my family really appreciate your kindness."

I flashed him my best Cullen smile and pulled my hand back to tuck loose curls behind my ear.

Jacob wrapped his arm around my waist and kissed my head once before dipping down and engulfing his father in a hug.

"Dad, I've missed you."

Billy chuckled, and lovingly jostled Jacob before pulling away. "It's so great to see you, Son."

Jacob nodded and gestured to his friends. "Nessie, this is Quil and Embry."

I gave them both a bright grin. "Hi! It's really amazing to meet you two, Jacob has told me so many stories."

Embry laughed and grabbed Quil around the shoulders and tried to shove him down, "Oh yeah? Hope they were good ones."

I bit my lip and nodded, "Of course."

Quil surprised me by pulling me into a hug, and lifting me off the ground. "Welcome to the family, Nessie!"

"Alright, alright. Don't you two have somewhere to be? I think Ness is pretty tired, and we're keeping my old man up." Jacob said while nodding his head towards the woods.

Embry rolled his eyes and held his hands up in mock defense. "Yeah, _okay_. Quil has to go sleep under his Claire-bears window anyways."

Quil shoved Embry past us down the ramp, "You're a dick." He told him while laughing. "We'll see you tomorrow at Sam's for breakfast!" He called back to us over his shoulder as the two men jogged into the tree line.

I shot them a small wave and looked back to Billy, who nodded to himself and turned his chair, leading us into the house. "Well, come on in. It's not getting any warmer out here, not that you two would mind."

I chuckled to myself at his joke, undoubtedly understanding he probably knew it took a lot for either of us to feel the cold. I took in the warm home once we were through the small door, noticing how timeless it was. It looked just like what I envisioned; a quaint cabin filled with history and memories. The front door opened into the living room, and to the left was the small kitchen. I noticed down the halls a set of doors, which I could only assume are bedrooms and bathrooms.

"Billy, your home is lovely." I murmured, and interlaced my fingers with Jacob's.

Billy chuckled to himself, "You don't need to flatter me, it's just an old man's home these days. Nothing special."

I felt a tinge of sadness knowing he lived her by himself.

"It looks the exact same, dad." Jacob teased, grasping his shoulder.

Billy waved him off and wheeled himself into the living room where he promptly turned on the TV. "Which is just the way I like it." He flashed us both a smile before lifting himself out of his chair and onto the couch with a lot more grace that I would have imagined. "I already ate dinner, but Sue came by earlier with some lasagna so help yourselves."

Jacob nodded and pulled me towards the small kitchen. "Sit down, Ness – I'll make you a plate." I blushed hard for no other reason than Jacob's kindness, and sat down at the small wooden table.

While resting my chin in my hands, I stared up at Jacob as he fumbled around the small kitchen, that almost was too small for his large frame. I wondered to myself, if this is what life would be like. I had been so concerned with the sudden changes, I didn't contemplate how easy it was to be with Jacob. He pulled a dish out of the refrigerator and cut a small piece of lasagna for me onto a plate, and then took nearly half the pan for himself. He popped them into the microwave and leaned against the counter with his arms crossed, facing me.

"Hungry?" I teased, knowing how much he could eat.

He shot me a mock glare and gave me a dazzling smile. "Hell yeah, being your chaperon is hard work. Works up an appetite."

I frowned at his joke, knowing that wasn't his intention but . . . it still stung. Jacob was risking a lot by bringing me to his home. I was deemed an outsider just based on where I came from and who I was. He truly was like my chaperon, knowing most of the reservation probably would never trust me alone. My anxiety came back, probably ruining any lighthearted moment we were experiencing. _Jeesh, my mood swings are running havoc on my mind._

"Ah, Ness . . . I didn't mean it like that." He urged, setting the plates down on the table along with glasses of water as he pulled a chair out to sit next to me.

I bit my lip and shifted in my seat, "I know. I just still feel . . . guilty. Like, I've done something bad just by being here. I don't want to be a burden." I whispered, hoping to not alert Billy to our private conversation.

Jacob pulled one of my hands away from my face and kissed my palm while staring intently into my eyes. "You are not a burden, Renesmee Cullen. You've done nothing wrong. You deserve freedom, and happiness just like every other person that exists." Jacob told me sternly, trying to make sure I understood him.

I sighed, "Yeah but . . . even half-vampires?"

He smirked, "Especially half-vampires . . . one in particular."

I giggled to myself and looked away, "Oh, Nahuel right?"

He mock growled and pulled me out of the chair and into his lap. "You're gonna get it if you keep that up." He said as he brushed kisses along my neck. I blushed crimson and pushed myself away in embarrassment.

It was so easy to fall into him like this; he made it _so_ easy to forget about the hurt.

"Ja – ke!" I yelled under my breath, flashing my eyes to Billy who was in the living room. I saw he was smirking to himself, obviously aware of Jacob being a flirt right in front of him.

"What?" He asked innocently while catching my lips in a chaste kiss.

I kissed him briefly before jumping back into my seat and giving him a glare. "Eat your lasagna." I mumbled, fighting the smile that wanted to spread across my face.

He raised his eyebrows and smirked before shoveling a big bite into his mouth. He barely chewed before gulping it down. "I might have another meal I'd enjoy though."

I actually choked on the water I was sipping and set the glass down forcefully, whipping my head in his direction. "Jacob Black!" I scolded.

He shrugged and went back to basically inhaling his food. I let out a big sigh and ate too, much slower than him though.

"Alright, you two. I would love to stay up and talk after you finish but uh - I'm feeling my age tonight. Goodnight, I'll see you in the morning." Billy interrupted us before swiftly retreating down the hall to what I assumed to be his bedroom.

I shot Jacob a look and he burst out laughing. His white teeth shone with delight against the dim kitchen lighting. I felt my stomach clench seeing his happiness, and was thankful for Billy's abrupt leave.

It dawned on me . . .no mind reading father, no vampires with super sonic hearing . . . no one to listen in or have any qualms about what I wanted to do to him. That realization was finally sinking in, and I was struggling with my emotions over it. I was so thankful to have Jacob, but that didn't stop my sadness. But, I knew Jacob could make me feel better. Just like he had the other night.

I felt my eyes haze over and I lowered my chin and looked at him under my thick lashes.

Jacob's laughing calmed down and he began to fidget in his seat.

"Jacob." I hummed softly, his name dripped from my lips with lust. Maybe _being_ with him would ease my tension?

He shoved his plate away from him suddenly uninterested. We both stood at the same time and our chests heaved with temptation.

I bit my lip and got a boost of confidence, "Are you still hungry, Jacob?"

He inhaled stiffly, his toffee eyes turning onyx with lust in seconds. I smirked to myself and pushed Jacob across the kitchen, against the wall.

He raised his eyebrows as his hands snaked around my waist, pulling against him roughly. His hands flitted at the hem of my shirt before dipping under the fabric and running his calloused palms over my hips and back. I stifled the moan that tried to escape from my throat, his hands felt so good. Hot, rough and soft at the same time.

"I missed you." He huskily whispered in my ear before sucking on the skin under my earlobe.

I let out a soft moan as I reveled in the feeling of his lips against my neck. I could feel his teeth smirking against my delicate, yet stone skin. "I missed you, more." I barely managed to get out as he attacked my neck and chest with kisses.

In a blur, he had me pinned against the wall now. Moving faster than I had ever seen him before. I didn't waste time before I hiked myself up and wrapped my legs around his hips, locking my ankles behind him. We both hissed at the friction, and a smile danced across my lips.

"Do you want me, Jacob?" I mumbled, noticing his growing stiffness under his joggers.

He chuckled huskily and snaked one hand under my backside and the other through my hair. I placed my palms on his shoulders and opened my connection, showing him I enjoyed when he was rough with me and that I wanted to feel his wolf side.

Yes. This would definitely ease my tension.

He groaned and dropped his head into the crook of my neck, laughing slightly. "You are trouble."

I bit my lip and nuzzled my cheek against his hair. "You don't have to be so gentle with me, I won't break."

He lifted his head and pressed his forehead against mine. "I know you won't . . . I just want to be respectful."

I snickered and showed him another image, this time one of my fantasies where Jacob took me from behind, sprawled over his desk at school. How rough and commanding his was. How I submitted under the Alpha.

He let out a low, warning growl and somehow his eyes darkened even more. "How do you even think these things up?"

I let out a twinkling laugh, and gripped his face with both of my hands. Jacob didn't have to know how – but I'm sure he had an idea. When I first began feeling the fluttering of lust for him deep in the pit of my stomach, I researched. I knew I wouldn't be getting any information out of my family who all thought I was some innocent angel who didn't have sexual needs . . . but, I was a half-vampire after all, and vampires tended to be extremely sexual beings.

"Don't you think about it too?" I innocently questioned, licking my lips as I tasted his breath on my tongue.

He stiffened when the aroma of my arousal swarmed in the air of the small kitchen. He closed his eyes for a second, then opened them to stare at me with such intensity it caused my hips to twitch against him. He wasted no more time talking, and crashed his lips against mine. Our kissing was feverish, desperate as they tended to be every time we had kissed the last few days. It was like we were both scared that we would never get enough.

I parted my lips and let his tongue dive into my mouth, something that he obviously had wanted badly. It was like he was begging for entrance the way he was tracing along my bottom lip with his hot tongue. I automatically shifted my hips against him, trying to lift myself and deepen our already intense kiss. He groaned into my mouth and bit my bottom lip softly, eliciting a deep growl from my chest that I didn't know I was able to make.

He pulled away, breathless, and squeezed my backside harder. My eyes nearly rolled to the back of my skull feeling his rough hands through my thin leggings.

He smirked, "You like when I do that?"

I nodded and brought my lips back to his, kissing him chastely. "I like whatever you do to me."

He growled again and held me closer to him, pushing us away from the wall. I gasped, and held onto him, my eyes flying open to see he was taking us out of the kitchen.

"Jacob – "

He smirked, and nearly kicked open a wooden door some ways down the hall that revealed a small, dark bedroom that smelled just like Jacob – albeit the scent was faint and old. It was obviously his bedroom.

"Can't risk the old man catching us." He teased, and heeled the door shut behind us. He didn't even bother flicking on the light before dropping us to the bed and hovering over me.

My heart rate was erratic, wildly beating with anticipation of what would happen next. I had known what Jacob could do with his hands, and I badly wanted to feel them curl inside me once more.

He growled again, obviously hearing my enticing thoughts with my palms still open on his shoulders.

Seconds past, and that's all it took for my anxieties to pop right back into my mind. Before I could stop them they flooded out through my palm, right to Jacob. All of my fears, my uncertainty over my sanity after what had happened, my confusion over my looming fertility, my hormonal reactions to his touch . . .

Jacob stiffened, and I knew he was able to hear my thoughts. My cheeks flared into a hot blush and I pulled my hands back into balled fists, keeping my thoughts to myself. I really didn't want him to know I was having this internal turmoil. He had enough to deal with.

"Nessie, are you alright?" He asked gently, his voice was quiet and calm.

I looked away from his dark eyes and fixated my gaze on the wooden dresser against his wall, letting my eyes adjust to the darkness. I was embarrassed – mostly because my palms exposed my insecure thoughts, but more so to the fact that I didn't want him to think I was crazy.

"I'm tired of hearing that question." I shot at him, not looking away from the dresser.

I could tell my tone hurt his feelings, and I instantly regretted getting snappy.

"I'm sorry." I muttered, turning to look at him. "I'm just . . . I don't know. I've never felt this . . . wound up. Like, I can't relax."

He nodded, and had sat up to look at me closer. The once desperate lust between us had faded as he could sense my tension now. ""I know. I can feel it."

I sighed and blew out my cheeks. "He just really fucking frazzled me."

Jacob's eyes widened when I cursed, something I usually didn't do . . . but why did it matter now? No parents, right?

I weakly chuckled at my dark joke, eliciting even more concern from Jacob.

"Ness . . . please tell me what's wrong." He pleaded with me again, sadness flickering over his features.

I sighed and pushed myself up, sitting across from him with my hands in my lap. How do I ever tell him any of this?

"Jacob, I just feel crazy. I don't know how to explain it. I was okay for most of our trip . . . and then when that thing happened in the car, it forced me to unravel again. I don't feel like I have control all the time and I'm scared."

He was serious now as he stared into my eyes. "About what?"

"About a lot of things. If I'll ever see my family again, if I'll be accepted here, if I'll go back to normal, if we should ever even have a baby one day . . . what if the Volturi find out?"

Jacob blinked a few times, and opened his mouth to talk before snapping it shut. His jaw tensed and he stood up, the bed creaking from the movement. He turned around, then came back to face me with his arms crossed.

"Then . . . we don't have a baby. We don't even need to think about that right now, Nessie." He stated simply. I could tell it pained him to say that. Jacob had always wanted a family deep down, and I knew that even before we became romantic. The longing was evident every time he talked about his pack mates with their wives and their future filled with children.

"But, that's not what you want." I replied, sass creeping out of my tone.

He sighed and scrubbed his face, "Why are you worrying about this?"

I bit my lip and shrugged, playing with the comforter I sat under.

"Tell me, Nessie." He demanded, his Alpha command forcing me to shiver.

"Because – I don't know!" I whisper yelled, throwing my hands up in exasperation. "When it first started; I was so overwhelmed and full of joy that maybe I could have a baby. I never even had that desire until I met you! But, I've also never lived . . . you know? This is my first time away from my family. My first time away from home, besides the vacations with my family. This isn't vacation, though. This is my new life. I feel like . . . I don't want to run into this when I don't even know a thing about children. I've never even seen a real baby, Jacob." I exploded, but kept my voice a frustrated whisper. He stayed quiet, waiting for me to finish.

"Besides myself, which is still weird to think about how I was a hyper-aware infant who could do multiplication. I don't even know if I _like_ children. You know how impatient I can get, and you've only known me for a month. My birthday was three days ago. That's seventy-two hours, Jacob." I rushed out, my ramblings turning anxious and flustered.

Jacob's mouth dropped open and he rushed to my side, pulling me against his chest. "Renesmee, if I would have known talking about kids was going to make you so overwhelmed I never would have brought it up. I can see now that was a step too fast. We'll slow down, honey. It's just hard . . . for me to remember that we've only been together a short time. It feels like I've known you my whole life."

I nodded feebly, understanding exactly what he meant. It was so easy to get swept up in the possibilities and the talks of our future together.

In my heart, I knew he was right. I wanted to tell him I was fine; I'm not overwhelmed. But, that would be a lie and I cannot lie to my Jacob. I was already one to avoid my feelings, I knew that much. Anytime I was upset with my vampire family or couldn't handle all the information my brain was processing, I would dash off into the woods. So, now all I wanted to do was run off into the woods to be alone to think this madness through. Especially after what _he_ had . . . done to me. _He_ scrambled my brain past the point of simple concern.

My family was gone, and I didn't know when I would ever see them again, and it was all because of them. They should be with me. We should be together, but we're not and every uncertain thought hung in the air just dangling in front of me – out of arms reach. I didn't know if they'd be there when I did marry Jacob, if I ever did have a baby . . . and I couldn't figure out if it was the speed of our fast moving relationship that scared me more or the fact that my family probably wouldn't be around to see any of it.

My family hadn't really prepared me that well for life without them. Because no one saw that as an option. They would always be around – they were always supposed to be around. I didn't know a damn thing about life besides the obvious and what I had been taught. They were supposed to help me along the way, and ease me into this whole grown-up existence.

"I don't know, Jacob. I think it's just been a long day and I'm tired." I snapped at him, falling back against his pillows.

He crawled up to lay beside me, and pushed the curls away from my cheek. "Honey, I can see the wheels turning in your head. You don't have to shut me out." He pleaded, wrapping a hot arm around my waist and bringing me against his back.

"Aren't you scared too?" I whispered as tears flooded over my eyes.

Jacob held me tighter and nodded against my hair. "Of course I am."

"Then why haven't you told me."

He sighed, "Because, I want to be strong for you. I don't want you to worry about me. I need to take care of you, and keep you safe and happy. That's all that matters to me."

I scooted over and turned my body on the squeaky bed to face him. I grasped his cheeks with my palms and pushed all of my emotions into him; fear, love, heartbreak, devotion, uncertainty, anger, lust.

I showed him how my hormones couldn't just settle on one feeling and it was making me want to explode.

"Jacob; how do I get it to . . . stop?" I asked softly, feeling so small and immature in that moment.

He rested his forehead against mine and kissed my nose, before flashing his dark eyes open to stare into mine. "You breathe, Nessie. The first time I phased . . . it was kind of like how you're feeling. Everything was crashing around in my head, and I was feeling everything at once. I was so freaked out. Sam came into my head and said 'Breathe, Jacob.' And so I did, for a long time. I just sat there and breathed until I was clutching dirt in my human hands and the trembling stopped. Sometimes shit just hurts and doesn't make sense but that's the beauty of life; you feel it, you process it, then you use it to grow. You'll be okay, honey. I promise."

I felt myself silently begin to sob at his words. His confidence seemed unwavering; and I knew then that as long as I had Jacob I could get through this.


	20. Wolf Girls and Pasta Salad

**A/N:** Whipped this chapter up today, it's got a smutsy ending. Next chapter will be the bonfire, and a bit of drama goes down. Oh - and it will also be in Jacob's POV. enjoy this one! Thanks again to **SnapeSnapeSevRusSnape** for the great feedback! I recently updated my other story **Coming Home**, it's meant to be a sequel to Outcast but I just couldn't wait to get it up. Check it out! It's a Seth/OC romance.

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Chapter Twenty – Wolf Girls and Pasta Salad

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_sometimes I need a little sunshine_  
_and sometimes I need you_  
_keep giving me hope for a better day_  
_keep giving love to find a way_

_-lenka, everything's okay_

oOoOo

I woke up to the sound of pounding on a door, and sat up startled as I looked around. I was alone in bed and fear crept in. Where was Jacob?

"Renesmee!" I hear Seth's deep voice call from the hallway and suddenly felt relieved. Jacob's bedroom door burst open and Seth stood there grinning wildly.

"Good morning half-vampire princess! Your guard dog sent me over to get you up to go to Sam's."

I rolled my eyes and lifted myself out of Jacob's rickety bed, stretching as I stood. "Where is he?"

"He was checking in with some of the elders, and had a few errands to run. Don't worry, he'll be back soon." Seth said confidently as he walked over and pushed me out of the room. "Go shower, you smell."

I scoffed and swatted at him but he jumped out of arms reach and gave me a grin before loping down the hall and towards the living room.

I peaked around and inhaled slightly, letting my senses lead me to the bathroom. It was a small, somewhat outdated bathroom. A shower/bath tub combo sat against the wall, a small sink right next to the door and a toilet between. I noticed fresh towels hanging and decided to hurry up if it meant I would get back to Jacob sooner. I stripped and turned the shower on, hopping in before it heated up and cursing to myself at the cold water hitting my skin.

I made the shower quick, washing my hair and body in record time. I wrapped my body and hair in a towel and peaked out of the cracked door to make sure Billy or Seth weren't around to see me barely covered by the small towel. I jetted down the hall and back into Jacob's room, shutting it quickly. I nearly jumped when I saw Jacob sitting on his bed with his back against the wooden headboard. He smirked at me and trailed his eyes down my body.

I blushed intensely and held the towel tighter, "Hi." I mumbled, biting my lip and casting my eyes down at the floor.

"Hey." He replied gruffly.

I wrinkled my nose and stepped towards my bag on the floor, careful to not flash him as I leaned down and picked it up. I glanced at him quickly and plopped it next to his feet.

"Why didn't you wake me up?" I questioned as I rifled through the small bag for an outfit. I smiled triumphantly as I located what I wanted to wear. It was a pair of high waisted, wide legged mustard trousers and a white turtleneck sweater.

"You needed the rest, besides it was stuff I had to do on my own. Alpha stuff." He assured me, and eyed the garments I was holding up. "That looks nice."

I blushed at his compliment and glanced at him. "Is it too much? I just want to look . . . grown up."

He chuckled and shook his head. "Nah, you'll look amazing. You do in anything."

I snorted and eyed the door. "I'm sure you'd love a show but -"

He held up his hands and was off the bed in record speed, a blush adorning his russet cheeks. "I'll wait in the living room. I just wanted to . . . see you. I missed you and I've been away an hour." He admitted with a nervous chuckle.

I felt my face heat up again and touched his cheek gently. "I miss you always, sometimes even when you're right here."

He kissed my forehead and darted out of the room, shutting it swiftly behind him. I sighed and dropped the towel. I pulled on underwear and a bralette quickly before dressing myself. I tied a small bow with the waist belt that looped around my trousers and slipped into some tan backless flats. I looked at my reflection in the small mirror that hung over Jacob's dresser and frowned. It was definitely an Alice outfit, and I felt really out of my element. I wasn't used to wearing something so girly and feminine but knew I wanted to make a good impression on his pack and their imprints. I brushed out my wet locks and applied a little makeup, nodding to my reflection when I felt satisfied. I grabbed my small over the shoulder purse I brought with me and threw a few things in it like my new cell phone and lip gloss.

I opened the door and nearly skipped my way to the living room, flashing a grin at the three men who sat on the couches.

"Good morning, Billy." I said, smiling wider at him.

He gave me a smile back and nodded, "Good morning, Renesmee. Jacob and Seth tell me you have a big day planned."

I bit my lip and nodded, "Yeah, we do. We're having breakfast at Sam and Emily's, I'm meeting everyone else today." I told him shyly. "Will you be coming too?"

He shook his head, "No, but I'll be seeing you three later tonight at the bonfire."

Jacob stood up and patted his fathers back, "We better get going, if you need anything just call me dad."

He nodded and watched as Seth and Jacob bound over towards me. "I'll be just fine, son." He told him with a smile.

Jacob wrapped his arm around my waist and began to lead me out of the house. "Bye, Billy! I'll see you later!" I called over my shoulder as we left. I was surprised to see the sun shining, and my face broke out in a grin.

"Sun." I mumbled, and flashed my eyes to Jacob as we walked towards my car.

He chuckled and opened the door for me, "It's rare but it's nice it's out on your first day here."

Seth jumped into the backseat with a sigh and ruffled my hair as I settled myself into the passenger seat. "I can't wait to see everyone. Emily is a great cook!"

I swatted his hand away and glared at him. "Don't try to embarrass me today, Clearwater. I'll go vampire on you."

He wrinkled his nose and turned away, "You wouldn't and you know it."

Jacob chucked and brought the car to life and began to pull away from his dad's house. "I'd pay to see Nessie kick your ass."

Before I knew it, we were pulling up in front of a house nestled into the front of dense woods with a tin roof and wooden siding. It was a quaint cabin that was full of life. I took in the vast colors of fall that was all around us, with red, orange and brown leaves falling from the trees every few minutes.

"Wow, the trees are so pretty." I mumbled as I began to open the door. Jacob slid out and jogged around, grabbing it and opening it all the way with a smirk.

"Woman, let me open your doors." He grumbled with a laugh and took my hand to help me out. I rolled my eyes and lifted myself to kiss his cheek. He turned his head and caught my lips with his own, and sparks flew throughout my body. How had I gone so long without kissing him?

We kissed until Seth cleared his throat. "Can you two maybe not make out in front of me?"

I pulled away from Jacob and pushed Seth forward towards the house. "Jealous."

He nodded side to side and grinned at me before bounding towards the house and up the porch stairs. He burst through the door and I heard a chorus of people yell his name.

I flashed a panicked gaze to Jacob who smiled at me reassuringly. 'You're okay' he mouthed and led me through the door.

I blinked a few times as I took in everyone in the room. I recognized mostly all of them from photo's and knew their names, but didn't want to seem weird and greet them without a real introduction. There were four men I didn't recognize at all.

"Jacob Black!" A lower feminine voice called, and I recognized the woman with the scarred face as Emily Uley, Sam's wife and imprint. She was exotically beautiful, and the scar the ran down her face almost enhanced her beauty. It was like her strength and exquisiteness radiated from her. She pulled my Jacob into a tight hug and flashed a warm smile at me. "Hi, Renesmee. I'm Emily. It's so, so great to meet you. When Jacob called and said he imprinted, I was so over the moon. Then he sent pictures and we all couldn't believe it." She announced, poking Jacob in the ribs with her elbow. My face turned deep crimson as I tucked hair behind my ear.

Sam appeared behind her and I could sense his apprehension as he placed his hands protectively on his imprints shoulders. I felt my face fall but tried to remain nonchalant.

"It's nice to meet you too, Emily." I replied, stretching out my hand to shake hers.

She looked down at it with surprise and chuckled, brushing Sam off to pull me into a hug. "Welcome to the Wolf Girl Club." She whispered in my ear, and touched my cheek tenderly as she pulled away and floated across the room, disappearing into what I assumed was her kitchen.

Emily was extremely maternal and I could feel that from her, she seemed truly kindhearted and full of happiness. My eyes flickered around and noticed everyone else was watching us intently, still quietly chattering.

"Renesmee, this is Sam." Jacob introduced us a bit stiffly, his eyes flashing between him and I. I felt Jacob grip my waist protectively, and extended my hand to Sam.

He took my hand in his large, rough one and shook it, and then gave me a small smile. He seemed very serious and intense, but had a warmer feel to him as well.

"Not what I expected, good to meet you." He said to me in a deep voice, and stepped away. I knew there would be some uneasiness over my presence on the reservation, but it was one thing to expect it then another to experience it.

I looked over to who I recognized as Rachel, who smiled brightly at me from her spot at the table, sitting on top of a man's lap who had to be Paul. She wasted no time in waddling over to us and nearly tackling Jacob in a hug, despite her large, round belly. I could hear the baby's heartbeats inside her pregnant stomach and felt myself smile at the sound. Two lives were growing inside of her, and I was overwhelmed with joy seeing a pregnant woman for the first time.

"Jake, my stupid, idiot brother. I've missed you so much!" She teased and let go of him briefly, only to pull him into another hug.

His laughter boomed through the room, "Hey, Rach. I missed you too. God, you're round." He joked nervously, eyeing her stomach.

"Watch it, Black!" Paul snarled, and then gave him a smile.

"Good to see you, Paul." Jacob nodded to him and looked down at me with a smirk.

"Nessie, this is my sister Rachel and her husband Paul." He gestured to them both and then squeezed my side. "That's Kim, Jared, Bodhi, Kai, Collin, Brady, Lucas, Takoda and Leah, Seth's sister."

They all gave me a wave, nod or smile and I waved tightly back, returning my attention back to Rachel. "It's really amazing to meet you. Jacob speaks so highly of you, Rachel." I told her gently. I wanted to pull her into a hug but was afraid I'd hurt her belly.

She watched me eye her and she rolled her eyes, "I won't break!" She whisked me into a tight hug, and my eyes widened feeling her belly move against me.

"Oh!" I announced and pulled back, looking down again. "They moved!"

She let out a giggle and rubbed her stomach lovingly, "They must know their Aunt Nessie is here! I've told the boys about you and Jacob."

Jacob snorted and led me over to the table, pulling a chair out for me to sit. I glanced at Kim, and gave her my best, friendliest smile. She blinked at me and gave me a strange look.

Ah, she obviously was unsure of me.

"Oh, Kim. Lighten up. She won't eat you." Leah quipped and smirked.

I choked on the glass of orange juice Jacob poured me and flashed a panicked look to her.

Seth looked at me horrified as everyone in the room tensed. "What? Don't act surprised." She grumbled with a shrug.

"Leah!" Jacob hissed through clenched teeth and placed a hand on my shoulder.

I laughed awkwardly and gave her a tight smile. "I know there's the elephant in the room and it's me. I'm really appreciative of the hospitality you're showing me by having me over, and hope to gain all of your trust and acceptance. Despite all of our differences and beliefs, I promise I'm here only to love and respect the people of La Push. I've accepted the value of my role as Jacob's imprint, mate, and future wife." I announced to everyone with a strong tone, lifting my chin and touching Jacob's hand that was resting on my shoulder.

There was silence for a moment before Quil broke out in a chuckle. "That was literally the most eloquent thing anyone has ever said to me. I feel like I just heard a award speech or something."

Everyone erupted into laughter and the air in the room relaxed after that. I joked and talked with all of the girls throughout breakfast, telling them about the boutiques I've been to, and all about my hobbies. They seemed really receptive to me after that, and even invited me to Rachel's baby shower later in the week . . . which I was confused about. How would we shower her babies if she was still pregnant?

"There will be pasta salad!" Kim giggled as she touched my hand briefly.

I furrowed my eyebrows and looked between the girls, "Pasta . . . salad?" I questioned.

That was also something I've never heard of, and I was pretty damn smart.

Emily's hand flew over her mouth in surprise, "You don't know what pasta salad is?"

I blinked and shook my head 'no' slowly.

Seth snorted from across the room and I shot him a glare before turning my attention back to Rachel, Emily, and Kim.

"Is it just lettuce and noodles? That sounds kind of unappetizing." I mumbled with a blush.

I heard a few snickers from the guys and then a swat followed by an 'ow'. I turned to see Jacob grinning at me and Embry holding the back of his head in discomfort.

"No, silly! It's noodles, veggies, cheese, meat and Italian dressing. It sounds weird but it's good!" Rachel exclaimed.

I gave them a grimace and bit my lip, "I mean . . . I'll try it."

Emily chuckled to herself and shook her head, "It's at four on Friday, at Rachel's house."

"Don't feel like you have to get the boys anything!" Rachel chimed in quickly.

I blushed again in embarrassment, not actually knowing what a baby shower was and didn't know it involved gifts.

"I've never been to a baby shower, what . . . is it anyways?" I questioned slowly.

Rachel's eyes widened, "It's sort of like a pre-birthday party for babies. Where you celebrate the mom and the babies being born soon."

I nodded, "Will your son's be there?" I asked, pointing my question to Kim and Emily.

They both smiled and nodded. "Yes, of course!" Emily replied.

I felt my face light up in excitement and I bounced a little in my seat. "I can't wait; I have never met children!"

All of their faces fell as they looked at me in confusion. I blinked a few times realizing they probably didn't know the depth of my childhood.

"Nessie wasn't around babies or other kids growing up." Jacob said stiffly for me, saving me from my own embarrassment.

Kim's mouth dropped open before she snapped it shut. "Oh, that's alright. Cheveyo was the first baby I ever held actually, I thought I was going to drop him the whole time! When Dakota wakes up from his nap soon you can hold him."

Emily rolled her eyes, "Chev was a squirmy little baby . . . speaking of . . ."

Just then, I heard the squeal of a small child from across the house and the patter of tiny footfalls.

A tan little boy, about five years old, ran into the room and jumped into Emily's arms.

"Good morning, mommy!" He giggled as he laid kisses all over her. I watched in amazement at how small and adorable he was, the sound of his tiny little heartbeat made my own flutter with delight.

I watched as Sam play roared at the little boy, picking him up and spinning him around. He continued to giggle until he was set back down. I blinked as his eyes landed on me and he gasped.

"Pretty!" He squealed and darted over to where I was sitting. I looked down as he tugged on my pant leg and motioned his arms up. My eyes flashed to Emily who was smiling brightly at me.

"He's very friendly." She mused, brushing her bangs out of her eyes.

I bit my lip and placed my hands carefully under his armpits like I watched Sam do with him, and lifted him into my lap.

"Hi, I'm Cheveyo. Who are you?" His big, innocent brown eyes blinked at me with expectance.

I giggled in response and took in his small frame. He was lanky for a toddler, and had shaggy black hair that curled around his face.

"I'm Nessie." I told him with a big smile. I felt Jacob lean down and ruffle the tot's hair.

"Hey, Chev. It's been a while; do you remember me?" He questioned the little boy at eye level.

He nodded fervently, and reached out to touch Jacob's face. "Uncle Jake!"

Jacob let out a laugh and whisked the little boy out of my lap, "Yeah, that's right. Missed you little buddy, hope you've been good for your parents?"

He looked over at Sam mischievously, earning a snort from his mother. "He's a bit of a wild one."

Chev giggled and squirmed around in Jacob's arms until he set him down, and without a second glance he was off running through the house.

"He is so cute, Emily." I gushed, and played with the ends of my hair nervously.

The rest of the morning we spent our time with the pack talking and laughing, and I began to feel really comfortable and accepted. Just before noon, Jacob announced we had to get going to run some errands. The morning had flown by, and I was feeling very happy and even sort of loved by the wolf pack and the imprint girls. It was honestly nice to interact with people that weren't vampires or teenagers. They moved, breathed, and fidgeted in conversation as a normal human would. Unlike my family, who had to force the human charade. I felt like I . . . fit in. Sort of.

"Bye! We'll see you tonight!" I called over my shoulder as we stepped outside.

Jacob let out a shaky exhale and led me to the car. I furrowed my brows and grasped his hand. "What's the matter?"

He smiled tightly at me and shrugged, opening the door and helping me in.

I watched as he jogged around and slid in next to me, bringing the engine to life and pulling away from their secluded home.

"Nothin' really. It was just a lot to take in." He finally told me, but I wasn't convinced.

"What's really bugging you?"

He sighed and rolled his head around to crack his neck. "Jared. He wouldn't stop staring at you like your . . ."

"A vampire?" I finished with a half-laugh.

He shot me a concerned glance and nodded. I sighed and took his hand in mine. "Not everyone is going to accept this right off the bat, Jacob. I realize that, and it's okay. You're taking over for Sam, and that's a huge shift for everyone as is. Throw in his new Alpha's imprint being half-vampire . . . I would be staring too."

Jacob chuckled and shook his head, then brought my palm to his lips. "You amaze me. You're taking this all in full stride, and it makes me proud."

I felt myself blush and shook my head, "I mean . . . I did have a meltdown last night, so more like half stride?" I suggested playfully.

He gave me a look, and I rolled my eyes. "Who were the other four? I didn't know there were more than ten wolves."

Jacob sighed and flexed his fingers on the steering wheel, "It was news for me too this morning. They're relatively new. There were a few nomads that hung around for a few days, giving the pack a run around before chasing them off. Enough time to trigger more boys to phase though."

I wrinkled my nose and frowned, "Does that happen a lot?"

He shrugged, "Not when I was here, but it's a pretty desirable town to settle in if you're a vampire. With the weather and all."

I nodded as I stayed silent, not really having a good response. I was a bit frightened at the news, but knew I shouldn't be.

Jacob drove us out of La Push, and wouldn't tell me where we were going. We made our way towards Forks, and soon were driving through the small, podunk town.

"This town is smaller than I thought." I murmured, watching as we drove through on the main road.

Jacob snorted and shrugged, "It grows on you."

"Where are we going?"

Jacob smiled brightly at me as he turned down a short dirt road that led to a big, building with three tall garage doors. Above the middle garage door hung a sign that said 'Black's Auto Repair'

I gasped and looked at him, "Is this it?"

He nodded and cut the engine after he parked right in front of the door with an awning over it. I wasted no time and scurried out, running to the front and looking around.

"Hurry up, Jacob! I want to see!"

"Nessie, it's really nothing. It's just a big building with car stuff. Not that interesting." He mumbled with a slight grin.

I rolled my eyes and placed my hands on my hips expectantly. "You know I love 'car stuff' too." I stated and turned my nose up at him playfully.

Aunt Rosalie had taught me a lot about cars, including how to build engines and repair just about anything auto related. It wasn't exactly a passion, but I did enjoy it. So, when Seth and Jacob told me about his shop I was ecstatic for him.

I watched impatiently as he jiggled the key in the door and unlocked it, walking inside and flicking the lights on. I took it all in, admiring at how organized and clean it was for an auto shop.

"So, still holding Seth to that deal?" I questioned as I absent mindedly walked around, running my hands over a stack of tires in the corner.

"Yeah, kid needs to finish. I don't know why he thought dropping out to chase me around was his smartest choice."

I shrugged and turned back to face Jacob, and hopped up on a countertop. I crossed my legs and folded my arms over my knee. I raised an eyebrow to him invitingly, hoping he'd catch the hint.

"You know, I noticed the sign said the shop was closed for another hour."

Jacob audibly gulped and shifted back and forth between his feet. I beckoned him in with my eyes, and he wasted no more time being away from me. He easily settled himself between my thighs, and hoisted me up closer against him.

We leaned against each other, silently, for a moment. Each of us had playful smirks spread across our faces, just staring at each other. We knew what we wanted to happen next, and it was inevitable.

I grasped his face with both of my hands, admiring how my skin tone looked against his briefly. Porcelain against copper.

I pressed my lips against his mouth, and a groan surfaced from deep in his chest. Eliciting that he had been waiting for this; needing this. I kissed him deeper this time, but still tantalizingly slow. I wanted to tease him as I dragged my lips over his and across his cheek bone.

He growled and gripped my backside tightly, and crashed his lips against mine. Again and again he kissed me, rougher each time, hungrier every passing second. I let a moan slip between my mouth when I felt his groin stiffen against me, and my body instinctively ground against him.

He leaned even closed, if we could possibly get any closer we'd be fused together, and slipped his tongue into my mouth. We both groaned while tasting each other, driving us to desperately fight for dominance with our mouths.

After a few minutes, we both pulled away breathless. Meeting each other's eyes with hazy lustful gazes, I gave him a lazy smile.

"Hi," I stuttered meekly, trying to fight the giggle that was coming out of my mouth.

He rolled his eyes and nuzzled my nose with his. "Hey."

I still wanted _more._

I pecked his lips a few times, each kiss becoming more and more chaste. Before I knew it, Jacob had me off the counter and against the wall like last night, his hand digging into my backside making me moan and roll my hips against him.

Jacob pulled away and looked around, spying a chair and settling down on it. I groaned at the new angle, settling myself in his laps so I could grind against him. He hissed between clenched teeth and both of us buckled into each other.

We probably looked like two horny teenagers dry humping to anyone who might have looked in, but I didn't care. Our kissing was fast and deep. I clawed at his t shirt and yanked it over his head, only pausing our kisses when the fabric brushed over his face.

I reached for the hem of my shirt and began to lift it, but Jacob stopped me.

"You don't have to do that if you don't want to." He told me gently, slowing his kisses and pulling back slightly.

I huffed and moved his hands away, pulling the sweater over my head and sending my curls messily over my chest and back. Jacob blinked a few times, and then went to kissing my neck hungrily as he took in the tiny white bralette that left little to the imagination. I could feel him smirking against my skin as I moaned whenever he would nibble and lick sensitive spots. He pressed his palm against my stomach and moved upwards frustratingly slow, letting his fingers stop between my breasts, resting on my sternum. I whined and pushed my chest against his hand, wishing he would just touch me already.

"Are you sure?" He questioned calmly, pulling away from me again.

I huffed and stared at him with hazy eyes. "Jacob."

He chuckled and dove back towards my mouth, kissing me softly this time. His frantic, desired kissing was gone and replaced by slow, soft kisses. I liked kissing him slow, too. I could feel every inch of his mouth, and taste him so much better. I memorized the shape of his top lip sucked between both of mine, and how his teeth felt scraping against my tongue. My body moved slowly against him, too. I ran my hands over his shoulders, scraping my nails down his chest, making him growl and pull me closer.

Just when I thought he couldn't make me feel any better, he moved his hand where I had desperately wished he would touch for so long. He squeezed gently, and moved his hand across my breast. He moaned so softly into my mouth, causing my hips to buckle against him. I felt him twitch under me, eliciting my own moan.

"Jacob," I breathed, rolling my hips against his at the same time he rolled his against mine.

His head fell against my neck and it didn't go unnoticed that he was watching me move against him, his eyes flicking back and forth between his hand on my breast and my hips against his.

"So beautiful," He murmured, kissing down my chest and pausing between my breasts. I let out a breathy whine in protest, hoping he would keep going.

He moved his hand behind my back and his fingers gripped the clasp of my delicate bralette. I nodded fervently and he wasted no more time before unhooking it and pulling it down my shoulders.

He gasped when he took in my naked breasts and suddenly I felt a little . . . shy. Jacob had only ever seen me partially naked, and even though his hands had already been inside me . . . this felt different. More intimate.

"Wow,"

I licked my lips nervously and ran my hand through my curls, pulling them over my chest. Jacob's dark eyes flashed to mine and he shook his head, brushing my hair over my shoulders to expose my chest again.

"Don't hide. You're . . . so perfect. Beautiful."

I blushed crimson and pressed my lips against his again, hoping he would touch me without the flimsy lace between our skin this time.

Jacob did not keep me waiting long, and soon his hand was at my breast again, kneeding and rolling his palm against it. I moaned and arched my back into his grasp, causing him to massage me harder. He caught my nipple between his thumb and forefinger, and I almost came undone right there. I gasped, my hips bucked and I bit down against his neck. Blood trickled into my mouth and I moaned deeply, letting myself suck on his skin just for a moment. Jacob's blood tasted . . . _amazing. _It was sweet but still rusty and salty at the same time.

Jacob surprised me by moaning into the air as I sucked a bit harder, feeling myself grow more aroused just by tasting him.

I had never bitten anyone before . . . and the only time I had human blood was when I was an infant and couldn't hunt. Jacob didn't taste like a meal, though. Tasting him was . . . intimate, and sexual. It made me hungry for his body, his hands and his mouth – not for a meal.

I whimpered and licked the wound, forcing myself to pull away. I could still taste him in my mouth, and felt a bit guilty for indulging on him. Jacob looked at me wildly, his eyes bright but hazy. His hand was still covering my breast as my chest heaved and panted, and I felt how flushed my cheeks were.

"That was . . . so hot." He mumbled in disbelief.

I let out a short, breathy laugh of relief. "I didn't mean to."

He shook his head and smiled "I don't care . . . if you bite me. I actually . . . kind of loved it."

I bit my lip and lowered my mouth back to his, and just as we were getting back into our groove of kissing, I heard the sound of tires rolling over the gravel outside. We both perked up and flew off one another, hastily throwing our clothing back on.

Just as I was tucking my shirt back in, one of the garage doors began to open and Jared and Embry bounded through. They stopped when they saw us, and exchanged quick 'oh shit' glances.

My face was flushed, and my hair was wild – and the scent of my arousal definitely still hung in the air. They flickered their eyes to me, then to Jacob and then to the ground.

"Hey . . . guys." Jacob said slowly while rubbing the back of his neck. "I was just showing Ness the garage. It looks good. Can't wait to get back to working."

Embry let out a short snort but quickly shut up when Jacob narrowed his eyes at him.

"Did you see everything you needed to see?" Jared asked, looking at me pointedly.

I blushed harder and fiddled with the waistband of my pants, avoiding their cheeky grins.

Jacob grasped my hand and pulled me along with him, sending both of them warning growls as we walked past them before opening the car door for me.

"See you two kids later!" Jared shouted from the garage as we backed out and drove away.

I thumped my head against the seat and glanced over at him. "Jacob, I just want to lock you away and have my way with you with no interruptions for once."

Jacob choked on air and coughed a few times to settle himself, before gazing over at me.

"I mean . . . yeah, okay. I could definitely make that happen." He said chuckling, his russet cheeks turning pink.

I giggled and interlaced our fingers as I stared out the window, wondering where Jacob was taking me next.


	21. Nessie The Minx and Council Qualms

**A/N:** So, lots of smut because well, Jacob Black. *Shrugs* It's rated M for a reason. Hope this satisfies some of you raunchy readers. *Wink*

* * *

Chapter Twenty-One – Nessie The Minx and Council Qualms

* * *

_need a little sweetness in my life  
your sugar  
yes, please  
won't you come and put it down on me_

_-maroon 5, sugar_

oOoOo

I sat at the edge of the cliffs, looking over the tumultuous tide as it crashed along the jagged cliff wall. My paws dug into the sandy mud and gravel, and I huffed to myself as I enjoyed the silence momentarily.

I had missed La Push, more so than I realized. Being back home surrounded by my brothers, my father, the scenery and the comforting smell of the ocean brought back a flurry of memories. Being able to phase and run along our patrol trails was something I took for granted, and now that I was back I was excited to set up our schedule again. Sam wanted to retire and age with Emily. It was officially time to accept my calling as Alpha and Chief, passed down from my great-grandfather Ephraim Black.

I should have stepped up a long time ago, but I was lost and selfish back then. The last time I was home, I was infatuated with the idea of a lost love. I had convinced myself into delirium that Bella was the love of my life.

I snorted to myself.

I had let the idea of Bella Swan cloud my judgment past the point of sanity, ignoring the fact that she wasn't even my imprint. I was seventeen though, and thought I had it all figured out. Maybe I needed to go through those years of uncertainty and give myself over to my pure animalistic side to truly understand the value of my role.

I couldn't help but feel like a self-loathing masochist at times, it seemed like it was the only thing that drove me forward. That is, until I met Renesmee.

Nessie.

A deep hum rumbled in my chest as my mind drifted to my imprint. I had left her in bed at my dad's this morning selfishly, because I was up all night staring at the wall thinking myself to death. My Nessie was struggling, more than I recognized on my own. I put her on a pedestal and felt like I failed as an imprint. I should have known she was feeling the affects of those damn evil leeches and her family leaving her behind. I was so lost in my own happiness over having her all to myself that that I didn't consider her trauma's more than at surface level.

She was traumatized to her core, shaken and beat down mentally. I saw it in her face when she showed me in the car, and then again last night when she broke down sobbing. She was trying so hard to be strong that I had to remind her it was okay to be weak.

I would be strong, regardless of my self doubt and fears over if I was good enough for her, for the pack and for the reservation. I had to step up.

I felt the shimmer in the air of another wolf phasing, and soon was greeted with the chattering mind of Brady.

"_Jake!" _Brady exclaimed mentally to me, and I could feel his tail twitch with excitement through our connection. "_Collin is right behind me; we'll meet you at the cliffs."_

I huffed and pawed at the dirt, giving him my silent recognition. I had kept my mind open since I first phased early this morning, waiting to absorb them into my pack.

I felt as the rest of the wolves shifted and popped into my mind, all buzzing about my return.

"_About time, Black." _Paul rumbled.

"_Awfully early for a meeting…" _Leah muttered with a growl, and I rolled my wolf eyes at her grumbling.

"_Shut up, Leah." _Seth quipped.

I felt my thoughts unintentionally drift over to Renesmee, unable to really ever keep her off my mind for five seconds.

"_She's hot." _Collin snickered, _"She really half-leech?"_

Just as he said that he bounded into the clearing in front of the cliffs and I turned and snarled at him, flashing my canines menacingly.

He yelped and cowered down with his tail between his hind legs. Leah, Seth, Brady, Paul and Jared all loped behind him, pacing around and circling as we stared around at one another.

"_Already asserting your dominance, Jacob?" _Sam announced, his voice vibrating in my mind as he shifted and headed our way.

I lifted my head and felt the wind whip my fur around as I stared down at the woods, sensing his location.

"_Where are Quil and Embry?"_ I questioned with annoyance, ignoring Sam's passive joke.

"_Embry is probably getting rid of some Makah girl right now and you know Quil is probably passed out after spending his night staring at Claire sleep."_ Jared snapped with a barking laugh.

I sifted through their minds to see what my two friends had been up to regularly while I was gone. It was apparent that the unimprinted wolf took it upon himself to prowl the Makah Reservation for single girls to sleep with on a regular basis, and Quil was doing exactly what I expected . . . catering to Claire. Not that I could blame him, but tea parties and dress up were definitely something I was glad I didn't have to endure.

"_Can you blame a guy? We're irresistible."_ Embry chimed in as he shifted mid thought.

"_Get your furry ass here now." _I growled, growing impatient being away from Nessie this long. I knew she was perfectly safe, but my soul felt incomplete being away from her longer than a second. I needed her every moment. My thoughts drifted to how she felt writhing under me when I pleasured her, and immediately clammed my mind noticing my pack picking around my memories.

"_Jesus, Jake."_ Quil grumbled groggily. _"I just saw more of her than I wanted."_

"_I see why you don't mind her being a vampire at all." _Collin snickered, replaying my memory from his mind now.

I snarled and found myself lunging at him, instinctively needing to protect my imprint.

He scurried back and threw me images of him apologizing, _"Sorry, sorry."_

I felt the shimmer of four more wolves, and felt myself surprise.

"_We got some newbies for ya, Alpha." _Jared chuckled. _"Only been a few months for these pups."_

I listened to their chattering minds for their names. Kai, Takoda, Bodhi and Lucas. They were all sixteen, and I couldn't help feel a little sad for them. To be thrust into this role at such a young age was traumatizing, and I knew that.

"_No way, it's badass!" _Lucas yipped and I watched through his eyes as Kai shoulder checked him on the way up the hillside.

"_Speak for yourself." _He grumbled.

I picked at his mind to see that he had the burden of hiding this from his family, and was struggling with his new role and the spells of anger it brought.

I waited until they were standing in front of me to speak, needing to take in their size and appearance before accepting them into my pack.

"_Harsh."_ Seth joked, and a few chuckles flickered through my mind from other wolves.

"_Enough."_ I commanded, and narrowed my eyes as the four new wolves broke through the trees.

They were much smaller than the rest of the pack, which was to be expected. They would grow in time. Kai was grey with streaks of white, lanky and skinny. Bodhi had similar fur to Seth, but his paws were brown as well as his face. He was the biggest of the bunch, standing a few inches taller and wider. Lucas was similar to Takoda, with black and brown fur and a similar build. Takoda had the longest fur though, as well as the scrawniest looking frame.

"_You need a haircut."_ I snuffed, before walking up to them. I watched as they shrank back at my massive frame. I circled them, and bared my teeth. I sniffed and pawed at the earth, giving them my approval.

Soon the entire pack was sitting around me, while Sam and I stared each other down. He opened his Alpha mind to me, showing me everything I might need to know. Past patrols, any new scents they picked up, the vampires that came through to trigger the boys to phase, what the pack was up to outside of shifting for patrols.

I nodded my large, wolf head and my eyes flickered to the woods behind us. _"One last run, Sam?"_

It was something we had discussed long ago, that when a wolf decided to stop phasing and retire we would run the borders and patrol trails together as a pack. Our form of kumbaya, gathering together for one last run of being connected.

I watched as he inhaled deeply, drifting his gaze over the ocean and La Push.

"_I had always thought I would be excited to put this part of my life behind me, and begin my journey with Emily. But, I can't help but mourn. It's been eleven, long years of this life."_

The pack chattered their gratitude to Sam, sending him thoughts of encouragement and thanks.

"_You've done your job, Sam."_

"_We're grateful."_

"_I'm next man, we're getting old." _Paul joked, with Jared in agreement right after.

"_Same. You've been a good Alpha."_

I nodded in agreement,_ "You've shown us great strength and control, and I'm thankful you stepped up when I wouldn't. It's your time, enjoy your imprint and age with her. I'm ready."_

_"You're grown, Jacob. I'm proud." _Sam complimented me with a bow of his large head.

I lifted my head to the dawning sky, and let out a long howl. The rest of the pack followed suit, harmonizing our howls and barks. Sam took off then, with me and the rest of the pack following. We raced through the trees and along the beaten patrol trails, blurring and yelping with excitement as we ran. Sam and I ran side by side, our shoulders playfully knocking into one another as we thumped our massive paws into the Earth.

"_Emily is waiting." _He announced as we picked up her scent a few miles ahead where their house was tucked into the woods at the end of our trail.

We howled in response, and made our way to his family.

"_Go to her."_

We descended down a small hill and broke through the clearing of trees to their front yard, and my eyes fell on Emily who was holding the hand of their son who excitedly bounced in his place. We came to a stop and all sat down, watching Sam stalk towards his imprint and son. He nuzzled against Emily, and bent down to lick Cheveyo. The little boy squealed, and laced his tiny hands through his father's wolf fur.

We watched as Sam phased back for the last time in the arms of his family. He gave us a nod before we retreated back to the woods to continue our run with me as the new Alpha.

Everyone howled and yipped with excitement as our new journey began, with Seth flanking behind me as my Beta.

* * *

I stood with my arms crossed, watching as Nessie walked around one of the plots of land I staked out earlier this morning after the pack run. It was the last of three we were looking at. It was tucked against the edge of the woods, close by was a little trail that led to the cliffs I had been looking over at dawn, and you could hear the ocean anywhere you stood

"Oh, Jake. This would be so perfect." She gushed as she twirled around, staring up at the rare, clear sky. He skin didn't sparkle like a vampire's . . . she glowed. It was my first time seeing Nessie under a brightly lit sky, and I was mesmerized. She looked majestic and divine as time slowed down with each twirl of her skirt, dancing under the bright September sun.

"I think so, too." I mused, smiling to myself as I watched her move.

She stopped when she noticed my eyes, and a blush rose to her cheeks.

_Beautiful. Amazing. Perfect. Mine_.

"What?" She asked nervously, casting her eyes down and tucking a curl behind her ear.

I licked my lips and strode towards her, reaching out to tilt her chin up to look at me. "Does this make you happy?"

I would do anything to make you happy.

Her manicured eyebrows furrowed for a moment before she broke out into a wide grin. "Yeah, it does."

She pulled away from me with a twinkling laugh and danced across the clearing towards the woods. "You know what else makes me happy?"

I narrowed my eyes playfully as I watched her slip out of her shoes, knowing what she would say next.

"When you chase me!"

She giggled and took off into the woods, and I wasted no time dropping out of my clothing and shifting to run after her. My tongue lolled out of my mouth as I dug into the Earth and chased after the white blur that was Nessie running ahead of me. I could hear her laughing, beckoning me to her. I felt the shimmer of another shift and heard Brady's thoughts instantly, he was concerned.

"_Oh, Jake. Good. I thought I saw –"_

Then he looked into my mind as he saw me running right behind Nessie.

"_Oh, shit. Never mind. I didn't know she could run like . . ."_

"_A vampire?"_ I huffed.

He wasted no more time in staying in wolf form, and soon I was alone with my thoughts. Good.

"Come on, Jake! You're gonna lose!"

I heard her squeal as she dashed ahead of me. I grunted and lunged, swiftly pining her beneath me as gently as I could.

He laughter was contagious, she wriggled and squealed under me as I licked and nuzzled her face with my giant wolf tongue.

I had a fantasy similar to this one . . . where I chased her as a wolf and took her as a man . . .

I calmed myself and let the shift take over, and soon I was on top of her in human form, holding her arms above her head as I pressed myself down against her.

She let out a gasp as her cheeks flushed.

"Jacob," She murmured.

My name dripping from her tongue like honey. I groaned in response, and dropped my mouth above hers. I hovered my lips there, tasting her sweet breath. I knew it was way too soon for us to have sex, but the wolf in me was screaming. Telling me I needed to claim her, make her mine. Mind, body, and soul.

_Taste her . . ._

I growled at the wolf, deep in my chest. Nessie squirmed under me, her eyes hazed over and the wolf screamed louder.

_Mark her . . ._

I wasted no more time and dropped my lips to hers, tasting how sweet her mouth felt against mine. I had to stifle back the moan that wanted to erupt from my chest when her small, warm tongue darted out between my lips.

My attraction to Nessie increased tenfold every hour it seemed, and I knew it was because our relationship had shifted from that of a friendship to a romantic partnership. Imprinting worked like that. It was like the wolf couldn't resist his mate as the bond grew stronger.

I felt her pelvis twitch against mine as she desperately clawed her skirt up so she could rub against my exposed flesh. I hissed through clenched teeth when she began to grind against me, the tiny fabric she wore was the only thing standing between me taking her. She grabbed my back and leg and used my body as leverage as she moved.

I kissed her deeply, enjoying every caress of her tongue and the pucker of her lips as they moved with mine. Nessie was like . . . crack. Honestly. Her sweet scent swirled in my nose, she smelled like citrus, vanilla and spices. Even my brother's thoughts chattered with how surprised they were when they noticed how good she smelled, better than the average human but obviously not as good as their respective imprints. It made me roar with jealousy internally at first, but it was better than them thinking she smelled sickly sweet like a normal vampire.

But of course, Nessie was half-vampire . . . and despite that, she was perfect. Every bone in my body ached for her regardless of her genetic makeup. I didn't care that she was half-vampire, even though my genes told me to hate the half of her that was vampire. We were bred to kill them. We were their natural enemies. We were supreme predators, and they were our prey.

But, Nessie was my prey in a completely different way. I wanted to dominant her, maim her with pleasure.

"You're thinking too much," She whispered.

Her velvety voice snapped me back to reality; the one where she was laying beneath me with her skirt pushed up to her abdomen and her tiny, barely-there panties exposed against my naked lower half.

Her eyes flickered down to see what I was staring at, and she gasped.

"Oh,"

I felt myself smirk, knowing why she was reacting that way. It was one thing for her to _feel_ me, it was another to _see_.

I was big everywhere, so what would make that different for my nether regions? I definitely knew it was due to my genes. It didn't make me overly cocky . . . just a bit more confident.

"I'm not thinking too much." I mumbled, and shifted my eyes back to her big, chocolate orbs.

"Your eyebrows tell me otherwise." She countered.

I licked my lips and lifted my torso up a bit, to get a better view of my imprints face. Her copper curls were messily sprawled out around her head, a few rogue twigs and leaves tangled throughout. I lifted a hand to pick them out, and caught the blush that crept onto her cheeks.

"Jacob,"

My eyes snapped back to hers, seeing the desire still pooling around in her iris'.

"Nessie," I smirked, and dipped my mouth down to hers in a single, chaste kiss.

"We're alone." She told me pointedly.

"Well, we have a few birds and squirrels as an audience . . ."

She groaned and turned her head to look at a tree next to us. He head rolled back to face mine, and she brought her hands to my cheeks in a flash.

_Do you want me?_

"I want you more than I can control."

_Then why are you worrying?_

I sighed, unintentionally, and felt the sting of quick rejection flood through my imprints palms.

"There's a logical part in my brain that says take this slow, then there's the wolf side of my brain that literally is screaming." I explained, focusing on a piece of moss next to one of her curls.

"I mean . . . we kind of already skipped over slow." She reminded me, then the memory of her writing under me with my fingers curling inside her flooded through my mind.

My hands flew to pin her down again and the wolf screamed even louder. I watched her lips curl into a devilish smirk in response to my bodily reaction.

Such a minx.

"You're –"

"Trouble? I know."

He connection showed me the flurry of emotions she felt for me in this moment; mostly rolling back and forth between lust and need.

I licked my lips and sighed deeply, knowing my will was no match for my imprints needs.

"I need you." She repeated verbally this time.

I closed my eyes briefly, knowing the lust was beginning to settle over and the wolf was going to get what he wanted.

She knew I couldn't deny her. She knew she could bend my will with those three words.

"In what way?" I asked as I opened my eyes and settled them on hers.

The blush in her cheeks always drove me mad. She looked so pure and pretty with a blush on her face.

She laced her fingers through my shaggy hair and tugged slightly, digging her nails into my scalp causing me to groan in response.

Her palms pressed flat against my scalp and showed me very _detailed _fantasies she had.

"_Oh, Jacob." She moans, and I watch myself as I feather kisses down her naval and between her thighs, my tongue darts out to taste her sweet center for just a moment. I watch as she looks down at me staring at her exposed breasts, my hand reaches up to kneed one while my tongue works on her._

I growled loudly, and my grip on her wrists tightened. I pressed my hips down against her again, pushing her legs wider apart.

Seeing her perfect breasts earlier nearly made me combust right there in the shop. They were perfect. Full, round, soft and mine. Her nipples small, and rosey pink just like her lips. But seeing them with her gift? Yeah, that made me unable to resist her any more.

My lips went to work on her neck, tasting her skin with open mouthed, panting kisses. I sucked on the tender spot below her ear, causing her to moan my name. That made the wolf hungrier.

I made my way down her neck, and slowed my pace when I began my decent towards her chest. I was going to be selfish and enjoy myself, even if it made her squirm.

Her heartbeat was erratic at this point, thumping so loudly against my mouth. I smirked and dropped my hands from her wrists down to her waist, tugging on the tank top that was tucked into the long skirt she was wearing. Her hands hastily met mine, and pulled it over her head. I gasped when I saw she wasn't wearing anything underneath. How had I not noticed?

My dark eyes snapped up to hers, and saw her cheeks were crimson.

"Ness –"

She licked her lips and pushed my head back down, "Jake," she whined impatiently.

_Taste her . . ._

I groaned and dropped my mouth back down, kissing down her sternum and circling around her breasts. Fuck. I was here. I was doing what I have been thinking about doing the moment I laid eyes on her.

How was she real?

Slowly, so slowly, I flicked my tongue out across her nipple and she moaned – loud. Her back arched and she forced my mouth around her with her nails that dug into my scalp.

Huh. I guess she liked that.

I pulled her nipple between my teeth for a moment and flicked my tongue around her, swirling her areola tenderly to completely taste her. I thought her mouth tasted amazing, but her breasts? Ten times as good.

I hardened when my thoughts trailed to how good she would taste in other places.

Fuck. Me.

I moved my mouth across her chest to give her right breast the same attention, and I received the same reaction as the one before.

"Jacob," Her voice came out high pitched and breathy.

Nessie was panting, arching her chest into my mouth, and _whining_ my name. How the fuck was I expected to control myself when she said my name like _that_?

I decided her breasts had gotten enough attention for the time being, and it was evident Nessie agreed with the way she was rubbing herself against my very hard, throbbing member. I could feel her dampness, and the scent of her arousal swarmed the still forest air around us.

I was made to please her. Simple as that.

I shimmied my body lower, groaning in protest when I moved away from her heat. I pushed it down, knowing she needed this and I was dying to give her what she needed. My lips ghosted down her naval, my tongue darted out to lick her hip briefly before moving on. I had to to please her.

"Jacob – _oh –_" She moaned loudly when my mouth licked gently on her inner thigh, so close to where she wanted my mouth most. I inhaled deeply and my eyes nearly rolled to the back of my fucking skull.

She smelled like fucking paradise. I could taste her scent on my tongue, and my body went into overdrive. My fingers ghosted on the tiny fabric before ripping them clean off, eliciting a gasp from my imprint.

That's right.

I launched my mouth into her folds, needing to taste her more than ever. I snapped my eyes up to watch her react, and she had hers firmly shut, her chest arching with every flick of my tongue.

Oh, God. God? if you're there, I know what heaven is. It's Nessie. So, if I ever die, send me here.

Right fucking here.

Her hips buckled against my mouth, and she was gasping for air between throaty moans. I gripped her hips and kept her ass firmly planted on the ground so I could continue to make my imprint writhe with my tongue. I licked, sucked and even drooled as I pleasured her. I wanted to give her more, though. I could sense from her gift she was climbing – but that still meant I had work to do.

I skimmed my left hand down her hip and over her thigh, watching her face for reaction. Just as my fingers curled around her inner thigh, her eyes snapped open to look at mine.

One word.

_Please._

I growled, louder than I expected, and my hand dipped under my tongue that was teasing her bud. I slid it up and down before the whimpers she made forced me into action. Her heat encased around my finger, causing her to gasp as I buried it inside her.

"_Jacob_,"

Yes, baby. I'm right here.

She was so tight and wet, wetter than she had be the last time I touched her. I thought my hand was buried in her wetness before – I was wrong. It was now.

She was clenching around me as I worked, and I could sense she was close so I added another finger. Her skin resisted against the girth of my fingers, causing her to shudder against me.

"You okay, baby?" I questioned, pulling my lips away just enough to talk.

She nodded her head furiously and slammed it down on the ground below. I licked my lips hungrily and went back to work.

I knew she liked when I curled my fingers inside her, so I found my rhythm and curled right as I was at the deepest point within her.

"Oh!" She yelped in pleasure, buckling her hips against me.

I couldn't help it, I had to ask.

"You like that?"

Again, she was unable to speak and could only nod. She was biting down hard on her bottom lip, her eyes flickering under the closed lids.

She was close, and I would get her there.

My self control at this point was hanging by a thread. The wolf wanted to bury himself deep within her walls and give himself his own release, but I wouldn't do that. Not yet.

Before I knew it was happening, Nessie clenched around my hand and wetness exploded in my hand and mouth. Tasting even sweeter than she had before, I groaned and lapped it up greedily like a dehydrated dog. Her panting was slowing as I worked her back down, relishing in this moment we shared.

She opened her eyes as I pulled my hand away, and kissed her tenderly. I knew she was sensitive when she buckled against my mouth with a blush.

I couldn't help it when I brought my hands to my mouth and licked my fingers clean.

She was definitely one of my favorite things to taste. Ever.

I moved back up her body and smiled at her shyly. I had never done that before with a woman – but it was like my body knew exactly what to do for my imprint. I was made to do this.

"Jacob," She said breathlessly, "that was . . . amazing."

She said the same thing last time I touched her, and my ego definitely inflated some more.

"Good. It was supposed to be." I chuckled and rolled over onto my back so we were laying side my side. I looked down to see I was still rock hard, and blushed when she noticed.

She sat up and her hand flew to my thigh, squeezing gently before wrapping her fingers around me. She grasped me, causing my eyes to widen and my hips to fucking buckle into her hands.

"Holy fuck!" I shouted, and my hands flew down to hers. I tried to pull them away and she fucking tightened her grip.

"Nessie, you don't –"

I shook my head vigorously, trying to shake the wolf away. He was about to lose it.

"Let me."

Oh, honey. Oh, my sweet Nessie. Your hands are on me and I cannot fucking think.

"I really want to."

"Oh, fuck." I muttered, opening my eyes to look at her. Her cheeks were flushed, her lips were swollen and she was giving me the _fucking_ look.

And she looked goddamn amazing.

I nodded slowly, and snapped my eyes shut again. Nessie's hands were on me like I had dreamed about. Wrapped around me and moving in a steady rhythm. If I had any self control left right now, I would have insisted we stop. But, logical Jake was gone. Hornier than hell Jake was in his place and ready to lose it.

She moved harder, and faster. I groaned and rolled my head back and forth, biting down on my lip so hard it drew blood. I heard her gasp, I knew she smelled it.

Before I could react, she was on top of me, her hand still moving but her lips were now sucking on my bottom one, the one I had bit through.

Nessie was drinking . . . from me . . . and that is when I fucking exploded.

I hadn't expected to so quickly, but I couldn't help it. Her hands moving on me . . . stroking me exactly the right way while tasting me? I was done for.

I thrust my hips into her small hands, and groaned out loud. I wanted to roar like an animal – but knew that was way too much, so I bit it back.

She drew her hand back when my body went slack, and my eyes flashed open to see her peering down at me with a shit-eating-grin.

I looked down, and was thankful I had missed her with my . . . release, taking notice it was sprawled out on the dirt next to me. "I – fuck. I don't even know what to say. I love you." I told her sheepishly, unable to really think past that first instinctual thought.

"I love you, too. So, when do we start building?"

I started to laugh from my spot next to her, and shook my head. This girl, my girl. She surprised me every moment.

* * *

I stared at her round ass from across the fire a bit too obviously, but hell – I couldn't help it. I didn't have to hide how I felt or tone it down now. No Edward to give me dirty looks, no prying eyes of students . . . just a pack who understood what it was like.

"Earth to Jake." Embry said, waving a hand in front of my face. I startled and snapped my eyes next to my best friend who sat next to me, leaning towards the fire with his neck craned in my direction. He smirked at me, and his gaze flickered over to Nessie.

I bit back the growl that wanted to surface at him looking at my imprint.

"I get it, man. But, not around Claire." Quil muttered this time, his eyes flashing down to Claire who was leaning against his knees, chatting to some other little girl who came to the reservations bonfire. My eyes flashed back to Nessie, who was making small talk with some of the women, many I didn't recognize right away. I knew the majority were pack member's parents, sisters, brothers and what not. I wasn't expecting this turn out, but word got around of my return, with a 'pale face' no doubt, and they all came to investigate. It was a first for the tribe for a Chief to be linked with a non-Quileute.

"Sorry." I mumbled, giving them a half-assed smile. "I can't help it. She's just amazing. Look at her, she's glowing. They _love_ her."

And, they really did. Everyone who had met her only had compliments once they walked away. Old Quil told her she was a beacon of light at the end of a long journey. What did that even mean?

My father wheeled over to us with Rachel, a bright smile on both of their faces.

"Hey, dad. Rach." I greeted, standing to grasp his shoulder. Dad pat my hand and nodded, glancing over at Renesmee before looking back up at me.

"The elders had expressed their doubt prior to meeting her, but she truly is exceptional."

I felt pride surge in my chest. Sure, I had already known how amazing my imprint was. But, to hear the acceptance from my father and the elders was something I couldn't help feel proud of.

Rachel nodded in agreement, her hands resting on her round belly. "A few of the women asked when the wedding was." She teased, rolling her eyes.

I chuckled and rubbed the back of my neck, "We haven't really talked about it that in depth . . . still getting used to being together, you know?"

Billy raised his eyebrows, "Sue told you the previous agreement . . ."

I knew exactly what he was talking about. Her compromise was us getting married, to change her last name to Black to satisfy the tribe on the treaty rules. But, she was here now . . . why did it matter what her name was? She was still my imprint and mate, and would be my wife. One day. But, after Nessie just expressed her fears to me last night I wasn't ready to push her towards that. We needed time. She needed time.

"I know. It's just a lot for her." I said slowly, trying to read his emotions.

When I first told Nessie of the agreement, she was pleased. We were peachy keen, but that was with the initial buzz of happiness. Once it settled, I knew how badly it freaked her out. She was still young, regardless of her intellect and physical appearance. She had a lot she's never done, including everything sexual we have done thus far. It's all a first for her. I wasn't willing to rush my imprint's life just to satisfy the council.

He inhaled and nodded, "I understand son, but – "

"I'm not discussing this further without the council fully present. I'll tell them exactly what I think about this agreement. It's fucking unnecessary. She's here, she's not a threat – what else do they want? It's a name, and it doesn't grant a death sentence." I snapped, feeling the Alpha in my tone vibrate. I had noticed in my peripherals that the pack's attention was fully on my conversation, and Rachel sank back towards Paul.

I heard Nessie excuse herself as she fluttered over to me. She looked around and smiled tightly at a few prying eyes before placing a hand on my cheek and dragging my face down to look at her.

_Do not do this._

I narrowed my eyes, telling her to drop it.

_It's just a piece of paper . . . if it makes them happy –_

"I won't do anything you're not ready for." I interjected her thoughts with a whisper.

I grasped her hand that was placed on my cheek and held it there, drawing my own hand to rest on her cheek.

She closed her eyes briefly and leaned into my touch before flashing them back open and giving me a small smile.

_I don't want trouble._

I shook my head and looked around, only a few eyes of my pack brothers were on us now with everyone else sneaking glances between conversations. I grasped her hand and pulled her away from prying eyes, needing to talk to her in somewhat private.

"Jake," she protested, following behind me down the beach.

I turned to face her and took her face in my hands.

"Nessie, it's okay. I will fight for this. I'm not rushing this to please some old council."

She shook her head, disagreeing. "You said it was the one agreement. I'm not one to stir up trouble."

I sighed and dropped my hands. "I know, but things change."

She bit her lip and looked over her shoulder at the fire. "Is this about last night? Jake, I was just tired and overwhelmed for a minute . . ."

"No, do not downplay your feelings. It's not fair to you. You've done enough, okay? Let me handle this. It's not just a piece of paper to me. It's a symbol of us coming together. It's a sacrifice. A ceremony of unity. I want to do this right, on our terms. I'm Jacob Black, son of Ephraim Black, successor to our Chief and the true Alpha. I'm calling the fucking shots on this one."

She shivered against me, and I knew what that statement just did to her.

This girl was going to drive me fucking mad.


	22. Blood Dries Brown

**A/N:** Hi all, been a few days since the last update. Sorry! I've begun to work on my own book, and have been a bit preoccupied with that. Wanted to begin to tie in a bit of my old plot, including nicknames and conversations. Review and let me know what you think!

* * *

Chapter Twenty-Two – Blood Dries Brown

* * *

_your eyes are fragile and timeless  
__you're beautiful  
__there's power in the words you whisper_

_-halsey, dominic's interlude_

oOoOo

The weeks flew by faster than they ever had before and I knew it was all because of Jacob. We had grown closer than I thought possible and I was more in love with him every minute. Life began to settle in a comfortable routine; my vampire side was thankful for that. Jacob was proving to be quite the hopeless romantic, always surprising me with flowers or handwritten letters whenever I wasn't paying attention. He'd taken me on countless dates to Seattle and Port Angeles, and even once to Portland once. We'd hiked, ran, explored all over the state of Washington, laughing and kissing the whole way. The numbness of my family's absence was beginning to settle, until December rolled around and the realization it'd be our first Christmas apart.

It was the only holiday we really celebrated, and it was only days away.

"Hey, mama. What's that frown for?" Jacob mused as he flipped a pancake on the griddle. I flashed my eyes to meet his toffee brown ones from the spot on the floor I was focused on.

Jacob began to sport a new nickname for me that I absolutely adored, more than Nessie.

Once Seth declared me 'pack mom' a few weeks ago after I had taken over Emily's role of _nurturer_ to the overgrown men, Jacob began to charm me by calling me 'his little minxy mama'.

A good chunk of my time these days were spent whipping up an overabundance of food for the pack. I loved taking over the weekly breakfasts and dinners, and I always was showing up at the younger wolves' houses with bags of food and goodies. It felt oddly maternal, and I actually quite liked it.

"Just thinking about my family, that's all," I replied softly, and gave him a half smile. "Gonna miss them at Christmas."

His tanned lips frowned for a moment as he lifted a pancake from the griddle to the stack on the plate.

We were still living with Billy as the construction for our home began, something I didn't mind at all. I had grown to love Billy like he was my own father, and in a way he was – or would be. We had really great conversations, and always were sharing knowledge with each other. I would teach Billy about war history I'd learned from Uncle Jasper, and he would teach me all about Native American traditions and antiquity of different tribes, even divulging on legends of the Mayan's.

"I'm sorry, honey. I really wish I could bring them here for you. I promise though, we'll make it as good as we can without them. Now; eat." He told me with his usual bright smile, sliding a plate of pancakes across the table in front of me.

"Dad, breakfast!" Jacob announced as he set the table and set down a mug of coffee for Billy and I.

"Cream and three sugars for you." He said with a wink and a kiss on my forehead.

Blushing, I picked up the mug and inhaled the tangy aroma. Mmm.

"Thanks, Jake."

He nodded and settled down at the table next to me, wasting no time in digging into his plate. "The weast I can mmph do is make ghou breakfast sometimes, after all you feed meph all day longuh." He teased with a mouthful of food.

Wrinkling my nose, I tossed him a eye roll, "Swallow first, then speak."

He grinned widely, pancake sticking out between his teeth. "Sure, sure."

Billy rolled into the kitchen and took his usual spot at the end of the table, smiling tenderly at me. "Good morning, Renesmee."

I touched his hand and beamed back, "Morning, Billy. How did you sleep?"

I was truly curious, after Jacob and I did our best to be quiet at night but it was . . . _difficult_.

Jacob choked on his food and kicked my foot under the table. I bit my lip and stifled a giggle. Billy raised his eyebrows and diverted his attention to his plate.

"Soundly."

Jacob coughed once, and gulped down half his glass of milk to quench his discomfort.

I snuck my handle under the table to lay my palm on his thigh, opening my connection to him.

_I was awfully noisy last night; don't you remember?_

I smirked at Jacob's reaction; my eyes focusing on the sudden twitch in his pants.

He cleared his throat and adjusted in his seat, scratching his neck as if he was just fidgeting.

This didn't go unnoticed by Billy.

"You okay there, son? Look like you're struggling."

Jacob's eyes shot across the table and for a brief moment, his tanned cheeks donned a blush.

"Fine. I'm fine." He quickly recovered. He gave me a glare before returning to his massive pile of pancakes.

We chatted politely throughout the rest of breakfast, commenting on our plans for the day. Billy was going on one last fishing trip with Grandpa Charlie before the fish dove deeper under water before the final frost of winter settled over. It was nice having Charlie around, he came over frequently to see Billy with Sue so I'd been spending more time with my human grandfather than I ever thought I would.

I sat in front of a vanity Jacob squeezed in his small room for me, brushing my long hair out after a hot shower.

I was alone with my thoughts while Jacob cleaned up the kitchen after breakfast, but didn't feel nearly as tormented today as I did when we first arrived in La Push. The trauma of the Volturi's mind games was now just a conquered demon who rarely showed it's head these days. It took time, and a lot of deep talks with Jacob; but I finally was coming around to understanding I was safe and could move on.

I'd never have to go through that again; or at least for a few years. Alice was rarely wrong.

I barely registered Jacob's presence as he leaned against the door frame with his massive arms crossing over his naked chest. He was looking at me with a side smile, and I caught his gaze through the mirror.

Blushing, I set down the brush and faced him.

"How long were you standing there?"

He chuckled and pushed himself off the frame, striding towards me. He kneelt down in front of me, and turned my body on the stool to place his hands on my exposed thighs. "Long enough to need a kiss from my beautiful girl."

I licked my lips and buried my face into his neck, feathering his skin with light pecks. Lifting my head, I turned my face and angled it towards his, hovering my mouth near his.

"Then what are you waiting for?" I asked breathlessly, as if being this close to him suddenly closed my airways.

Which, in a way . . . it did.

Jacob crashed his mouth against mine tenderly, and I wasted no time parting my lips to dart my tongue out to taste him. We both groaned at the contact of our tongues, and my hands automatically snaked through his shaggy hair.

_Stars, I loved him._

Jacob smirked and pulled away after a few minutes of hasty kissing. "I love you, too."

I smiled and gave him one more kiss before resuming my grooming of my mane. I used to be embarrassed when Jacob heard my thoughts if my palms exposed them, but now I enjoyed it. It made us closer.

"You're still going over to Rachel's, right?" He asked as he walked across the room to his dresser to pull out a fresh t-shirt and jeans.

"Mhm." I acknowledged as I begun the intricate braid in my hair.

I tried not to stare at Jacob through the mirror as he dressed himself, but found myself blushing when he pulled his basketball shorts off regardless. Jacob was _not_ shy.

"See something you like?" He teased with a waggle of his eyebrows.

I bit my lip and looked back at my own reflection, trying to focus on the task at hand. My cheeks were flushed and my eyes hazy just thinking about him, but seeing him did a lot more to my body than just that.

He pulled on his jeans over a fresh pair of boxers before walking back up to me, just as I was tying the ends of my braid with an elastic.

He ghosted his fingertips up my arms and behind my neck, toying with the braid I just completed. My skin rippled with goose bumps at the slight touch of his hot fingers. I watched him in the mirror, his eyes were fixated on my neck as he leaned down to place a soft, open mouthed kiss where my artery was pulsing.

"This one's pretty." He murmured against my skin, lifting his gaze to meet mine in the oval mirror.

I licked my lips and turned my head to look at him, my eyes cast down under my lashes. His mouth twitched into a smirk and he kissed up my neck, below my ear, along my jaw and finally he came crashing against my lips.

"Mm." He moaned slightly, biting the top of my lip playfully. I smirked at his reaction and pulled one of his hands on my shoulder down to cup my breast.

He chuckled lowly and complied, massaging the tissue tenderly. "I like this angle. I can see all of you."

I blushed and moved my head away from his mouth to watch our reflections. Jacob still leaning down with his hand massaging my exposed breast, but only now he was moving tantalizingly slow as I watched.

"You're going to be – _ah_." I whispered breathlessly, my chest arching against his hand as he flicked his thumb over my nipple.

His laughed huskily at my reaction, "What was that?"

I groaned and pushed his hand off my breast, turning in one swift motion while kicking the stool away and pulling him against me as I sat myself on the top of the vanity. I snaked my hands behind his neck and brought his mouth against mine.

_Touch me. _I thought to him, forcing him to groan this time.

"Baby, I'm gonna be late."

"You're the boss." I challenged, pulling away to give him a determined look.

His eyes darkened and a small smirk twitched on his lips for a moment. He kissed down my neck and pushed my robe the rest of the way off, exposing my naked breasts and underwear clad bottom. He wasted no time bringing my breast into his mouth, sucking and nibbling which caused me to writhe and moan under him.

We had yet to have sex; something I think we were both very much ready for. We had agreed to wait but never divulged into for how long. I was growing tired of waiting, though.

Jacob's mouth between my thighs snapped me out of my thoughts, and sent me flying high. He ripped my panties away and went to work. Jacob tasting me . . . down _there_ . . . had become a fan favorite for both of us.

He knew exactly what to do with his mouth and fingers at the same time, and he's become quite the Nessie expert on what I liked and _really_ liked.

"Oh, _oh._" I whimpered as I grew close to my released, his hot tongue lapping against me furiously. My hips grinded against him, needing more friction. Jacob took notice and slipped his thumb under his tongue, working the two together perfectly.

"Come on, mama." He murmured huskily against my folds, sending me right over the edge. I moaned loudly as I began to ride the wave of pleasure and ecstasy.

"_Jacob_ – oh, yes." I mumbled between pants, my hips twitching frantically against him.

He kissed my sensitive skin tenderly and lifted himself away, wiping his mouth with his fingers and giving me a devilish grin. "Now that's a good reason to be late."

I let out a breathy sigh, and shakily pulled my robe closed. I smiled shyly and stood with weak legs, grasping the vanity for support.

He watched me with amusement and grasped my waist. His calloused hands burning through the silky fabric. "I'll wait in the living room so I'm not tempted to touch you even more." He told me with a classic Jacob smile.

I nodded and kissed him once before sending him away. Exhaling, I shook out my body. Trying to come down back to Earth from the high he made me feel. I walked over to the dresser, pulling out a bra and underwear and slipping into them quickly. I was only hanging out with the girls today, and figured casual was the way to go. After stepping into high wasited black leggings, and a cropped white tank top, I dug around for an oversized cardigan. Settling on a tan knit one with puffy sleeves that synched at the wrists.

I picked up the necklace Jacob gifted me earlier in the week and put it on, fingering the dainty jewelry that laid next to the locket my parents had given me as a baby before flitting out of the room.

"We can go." I announced as I came down the narrow hall and around the corner.

Jacob was fiddling on his cell phone, and his eyes flickered up to meet mine. He smiled brightly and trailed down my body.

"You look pretty." He complimented, standing up and striding over to pull me into a tight embrace. I snorted and pushed away from him to give him an incredulous glance.

"It's leggings and a tank top, Jacob." I tell him as I slip into some tennis shoes.

He shrugged and kissed me softly, "Still look pretty."

I bit my lip and blushed, "Thanks, Jake."

He nodded and pulled away, taking my hand and giving it a squeeze. "Come on, then. I have to get to the shop and you have babies to corral."

The car ride to Rachel's is short, and I already found myself missing Jacob before he even dropped me off.

"When will you be done?" I questioned, glancing at him with a pout.

He smirked and kept his eyes on the road, "I'm not sure, maybe four or five."

I nodded and focused back on the tree line as we approached Rachel's house. "Will you text me?"

"Of course, Nessie. I'll miss you."

I look back at him, smiling big. "I already do miss you."

As he pulled to a stop in front of their house, he leaned over to me across the center console. "I love you, Nessie."

I gasped his face with my much smaller hands, and kissed him once. "I love you, my Jacob. Text me, okay?"

He nodded and watched as I slid away and bound out of the car, hopping into a pile of snow. I waved as he drove off to the shop while walking through the front door.

I was met with light chatter between Kim, Rachel and Emily, as well as coos of babies and little Cheveyo squealing as he played.

"We're in here, Nessie!" Rachel called from the living room as I slid out of my shoes. I hurried down the hall and came around the corner with a smiling face.

"Hi!" I chimed to all of them, and immediately bee-lined for my twin nephews who were rolling around gleefully together on the floor.

Leo and Owen were nearing the three month mark in their human lives, and I absolutely adored them. I was scared that being around such small humans would make me resent them for their inability to communicate, but found out quickly just how wrong I was.

Owen spotted me and squealed in delight, followed by Leo mimicking him.

"Hi sweet boys!" I cooed in a voice unnaturally high. I laid on the floor in front of them and smothered them in kisses, which resulted in more squeals and innocent laughter.

I looked up at the girls who were all spread out on the couches with a grin. "Seriously, I could do this all day."

Rachel laughed and waved me off, "Sometimes I do!"

Kim scoffed and shot her a teasing glare, "Only when they sleep through the night."

I giggled and turned my attention back to the twins, and soon felt a little body tumble on top me me.

"Aunt Nessie!" Cheveyo squealed. I glanced over my shoulder at him with a grin and noticed little Dakota, who was only seven months, began to crawl towards me with a gummy grin.

I rolled over onto my back and lifted Chev easily above me, causing him to ripple into a fit of giggles.

"Plane! Plane!"

I moved him around effortlessly, letting him imitate plane sounds before bringing him down in a hug and sitting up so I could pick up Dakota next.

He practically crawled into my lip with tiny giggles and lifted his arms for me to pick him up.

"Okay, okay guys – I love you all but Aunt Nessie needs to be an adult." I said with a laugh as I set Dakota down in front of the twins and retreated to the couch, lading between Rachel and Kim with an exaggerated sigh.

I looked between the three tanned women with raised eyebrows and they all began to laugh.

"So, when are you popping one out so our babies stop loving you more than us?" Kim teased with a giggle.

I sighed with a small smile as I leaned further back into the plush couch. Jacob and I hadn't mentioned kids since my meltdown the first night we got to La Push, let alone marriage. Both things I recognized lately, I desperately wanted.

"I don't know, honestly." I shrugged. "I feel like I've been with Jacob my entire life…but is it weird to start thinking about marriage and kids even though it's only been three months?"

Emily laughed and shook her head like she recognized the feeling. "Sam and I dated for six months before we got married, probably would have gotten married sooner but you all know the reason . . ." She said softly with a distant look before offering a tight smile.

I reached over and touched her knee for support, before leaning back and crossing my arms casually. I looked to Rachel with a playful grin. "Jacob said you were anti-Paul for the longest time, Rach."

Rachel snorted and her tanned cheeks turned pink. "Paul tried desperately every time I came home from school on breaks to get me to go out with him, until one day he just showed up at my class and practically forced me on a date when he announced his love for me in front of the whole lecture hall!"

Kim giggled, "Imprinting is strange and magical. Jared and I were love at first sight! Rachel wanted nothing to do with poor Paul."

"I came around, clearly!" Rachel said with laughter as she gestured to the babies all playing on the floor.

"Well, we have talked about it . . . once. But, I kind of . . . freaked out." I offered lightly with a grimace.

Kim's eyes widened, "What do you mean?"

I nodded my head side to side and readjusted my position, pulling my knees against my chest. "Promise you all won't . . . panic. Okay?"

They nodded in unison.

"So, if I asked how old you thought I was – um – what would you answer be?"

I looked between the girls who all furrowed their brows.

"Twenty-two, which is young for babies to a lot of people. I understand why you might have freaked." Kim said with a shrug. "I'm twenty-five."

"I would say the same." Emily told me, with Rachel nodding in agreement.

I groaned and let my head fall back, before lifting it back to stare at them all. "So, everyone is aware that I'm . . ." I trailed off, and gestured my hands in a rolling motion.

Kim winced, but relaxed her face and nodded. "It doesn't . . . bother us anymore."

I smiled softly and cast my gaze down briefly, "I appreciate the acceptance, more than you all know. But, there is one thing Jacob and I have . . . withheld. Well, two things."

Rachel surprised me when she spoke up a little loudly. "You're scaring me, Nessie."

"I'm only seven years old and I'm immortal." I blurted out quickly, and gaged their faces for reaction or judgment.

Kim stood up with wide, panicked eyes. She glanced between the three of us, then down to the little boy who was only two years younger than I was before glancing back up at me.

"What?" Rachel asked in disbelief.

"You're how old?" Kim spoke softly to me, concern coating her voice.

Emily sat silent and still.

I swallowed the thick lump in my throat, wringing my wrists nervously. "I . . . I'm technically seven years old, but . . . I aged quickly. I'm frozen now, like this. Forever." I stated softly, keeping my eyes on the ground. "I'm physically and mentally an adult and will never grow old or change. My hair, my skin, my body . . . nothing will change how I am. And, I might not ever be able to have children because of that. My skin is resistant to change, and it's very strong. No kind of weapon will break it. And, truthfully? I think I hate it. I want to grow old. I want to have children. I don't want to be some sort of . . . freak. I didn't mind before Jacob, but now it's all I can think about as I watch the boys grow."

My eyes trailed over to the babies on the floor before glancing over at Emily. She had been silent this whole time, and still looked at me with the same kind; forgiving eyes.

"You're not a freak, Renesmee." She said softly. "I think . . . well . . . I think that you get the opportunity to live forever with your imprint."

I blinked a few times, and cocked my head to the side. "What will we do when you're all . . . _gone_? Where will we go?"

"La Push is your home; you won't go anywhere. Our children will be here, our children's children . . ."

I stood up quickly; much too quickly for their human eyes to perceive. I was across the room in a flash, and turned back to stare at the three of them intently. "That's impossible, and you know it. There would be too many questions . . . how could we even explain to those not in on the secret?"

Rachel's thin eyebrows furrow together, "We grew up with the stories . . ."

"But you never thought they were real." I corrected her with a snap. I was beginning to grow agitated.

"Then we teach our tribe that the legends are true. We protect the truth and value our spirit-warriors, as we used to." Emily said with determination.

I was touched, my eyes began to well at their lack of judgement. They were really my friends. They were trying to help me work through this.

"I just – ugh. To never grow with you all . . . hurts me. Hurts me more to know Jacob will have to watch you grow and _die_; his family and friends . . . what will that do to him? What will that do to us?" I asked with a broken sob, collapsing onto my knees with my face buried in my hands.

I felt all three of them rush over to me, and begin hugging me as a group.

"Nessie – that's not going to happen for a very long time!" Kim told me with a tight smile. "Don't worry yourself into a pit over the inevitable. We just have to enjoy the present, and we'll worry about the rest later."

I offered them a weak chuckle, wiping my eyes with the sleeves of my cardigan. "I'm sorry for breaking down, really – I just can't talk to Jacob about this. He'd get all understanding and apologetic over me crying like always."

Emily pulled back and laughed, "I know the feeling."

The other two girls nodded in agreement.

"It is a bit weird to think you're only two years older than Chev, but . . . I guess it makes sense." Kim suggested with a raised eyebrow. "I mean, you're half."

I nodded and offered a lame shrug. "It takes a bit to get used to the idea. But, I guess . . . I forget most of the time."

I heard the distinct sound of paw's thumping against the ground, and then we all froze when we heard a piercing howl in the distance.

The front door swung open, and storming inside was a cut off clad Jacob with blood trailing down his chest. I watched as time slowed, and his blood hit the carpeted floor beneath his muddy feet. That would leave a stain.

His face was nearly cast white and suddenly I understood exactly what was going on.

"They're here." He choked out, rushing towards me. "We have to go - now!"


	23. They've Come For Her

**A/N:** I feel a bit evil after I left you all for a few days on a cliff hanging. So, here's an update!

Also . . . if anyone would like to read my newest story I just put up this evening, head over to my profile to check it out. It's a Nessie/Jake fic (Who's surprised). 17 years post BD, BUT plot twist . . . they actually did have a war and Jacob lost Renesmee to a guard member while on the run. Idea popped into my brain during my shower *shrugs*

Review, my friends! Let me know what you think. :)

* * *

Chapter Twenty-Three – They've Come For Her

* * *

_it sung like a violent wind_  
_that our memories depend_  
_on a faulty camera in our minds_  
_and I knew that you were truth_  
_I would rather lose_  
_than to have never lain beside at all_

_\- death cab for cutie, what sarah said _

oOoOo

Jacob ripped me from the arms of my frantic human friends, who clawed at me while yelling my name. The sound of the baby's screams rang in my ears as he dragged me out the door and pulled me into the yard. Blood was trailed all throughout the white snow. He stepped away from me and undressed, tying his shorts to his band before exploding into his russet wolf form. I hastily slipped on my sneakers before climbing onto his back. I wasn't even fully situated before he took off towards the woods; howling into the sunset sky.

Sobs wracked my body as fear began to set in. They had found us after only a few short, blissful weeks. Alice said we had years. What did that mean of my family's fate?

I could smell the sweet scent of Vampire in the air, and knew they were close by. How many? How many of them came for me? Where was the pack? Were they fighting?

I felt the impact of a rock solid, icy body. The impact sent me flying from Jacob's back; catapulting me into the air. My blood curdling screams could have been heard by the whole state, I'm sure.

I landed with a crash against the tree, feeling my body snap it upon collision.

"Jacob!" I brokenly screeched, my eyes opening as the vampire and I hit the ground. I looked around frantically while I was lifted off the ground by my throat. His red eyes glowed with rage.

I looked past his cloaked shoulder to see Jacob in human form, unmoving.

"JACOB!" I sobbed with a gasping breath.

I saw a flash of tan and the arm holding me in the air was ripped away from my throat.

Seth!

I hit the ground and scrambled over to Jacob. I shook his limp body furiously. My shaking hands grazed over his bare skin, hoping it would elicit some reaction.

"Nessie." He croaked out weakly. His eyes cracked open to glance at me for a moment, before the sound of Seth snarling distracted him.

He let me help him stand, but shoved me back behind him as soon as he was upright. "Nessie, you have to go! I need you to run!"

"I won't leave you!" I begged as I tried to pull him back towards me, but his feet were firmly planted. "Please, Jacob. Don't make me leave."

Hot tears were running down my face in a steady stream, blurring my vision of Jacob's sinewy back and the chaotic fight in front of us.

His head glanced at me over his shoulder with a deep set furrow between his brows. "I'm not asking, Renesmee. I'm telling you." He looked back to Seth, who was clearly beginning to tire. "Go, just go! I love you, please. I was born to do this. I have to protect you. Go, now! I'll catch up!"

He screamed as he looked back at me for a brief moment, before lunging towards the vampire. He phased mid air, leaving me alone while he tore the vampire off of his pack brother.

Tears fell down my face furiously as I ran, turning my back on the two of them wracked guilt through my conscious. I tried to listen for as long as I could. My ears straining to hear their barking and growling the further away I got. I nearly froze when I heard a loud yelp – from Jacob. I sobbed outwardly and pushed myself further, sensing I was falling deeper into the forest.

I wasn't sure how far I had run, but I was growing tired. My pounding heart was thudding so quickly and loudly; I thought I was surely on the verge of a heart attack. I tried to keep myself focused on my tennis shoes hitting the ground as I ran. The thudding of my heart soon was drowned out with the loud padding of my feet.

The rhythm of my heart grew calmer as I fell into a steady pace, darting between fallen trees and rocks. My surroundings blurred past me, as did the crickets chirping, the birds singing, and the ocean slapping against the nearby shore. I had yet to lose my footing, surprisingly.

Jacob was blaring through my mind; anxiety over his ability to protect himself at the forefront. That vampire was ruthless with his methods, nearly killing me in his pursuit. His ruby eyes were strictly predator. I shuddered violently at the thought.

Was he Volturi? Jacob hadn't told me that; he only said they're here. That meant they came looking . . . and had to be angry.

I felt my ankle collide with a hidden root, and tripped forwards. My face collided against some rocks, causing me to groan as I rolled over onto my back.

My chest heaved up and down as I laid there staring at the canopy of pine trees above me.

I sat up and brushed myself off, touching my sore ankle tenderly with a wince before glancing up at the scent that wafted over my face from the blowing winter wind.

A different vampire, but a vampire none the less.

"Shit, shit." I gasped to myself as I scrambled off the ground and took off. I glanced behind me and could see in the distance a blur of white coming my way.

I ran faster, and decided to change my course. I pushed through grass and bushes before exploding onto a rocky shore in front of the ocean. It was definitely not La Push – but I was still in Washington. I looked around, unsure of how to proceed.

I was lost, scared and alone with a vampire hot on my heel.

Great.

And – Jacob . . . could be gone.

I let out a shaky breath and took off again, despite the throbbing in my legs. I wanted to collapse. I wanted to give up.

I looked behind me. I saw and sensed nothing, so I decided to dive into the icy ocean with a deep breath. I swam deep against the strong current, hoping the intense waves would wash away my scent. I opened my eyes while submerged in the salty water, peering around me. Which way to swim? I had five minutes, tops, that my lungs could withstand being under water.

I swam quickly, trying to stick North. I broke out through the surface with a gasp and looked around. Green was still around me and I inhaled deeply, only smelling salty water and sand along with the usual Earthy smell that surrounded Washington. I paddled towards shore, and recognized I maybe swam about five miles from where I was before. I pulled myself weakly out of the water and collapsed onto the rocks. I know I shouldn't stop, but the pain in my body broke me from the need to get up and run.

A few drops of rain hit my cheeks and I growled.

"You've got to be kidding me." I hissed under my breath, and rested my head against the jagged ground. I looked towards the tree line, and pursed my lips. The rain could keep my scent hidden if I kept going . . .

I choked on a sob that shocked me when it errupted from my throat. I pulled my knees to my chest as the rain poured down on my already soaked and tired body. It was freezing, stinging my flesh with every pelt. Goose bumps rippled across my skin and a shiver escaped my chattering teeth. I was rarely cold; but right now I was feeling it for more reasons than just the weather.

Where was my Jacob? Was he . . . was he dead?

I recognized I had limited options when I squeezed my eyes shut. I could continue to run, and hope not to be found. I could go back and probably run into the vampires, or lay here and hopefully die of hypothermia (unlikely) before the vampire found me (likely).

None of those options were ideal, although the dying of hypothermia was a tempting option . . . but not plausible or tempting enough.

I forced my eyes open and looked to the tree line; there had to be something I could use as shelter while I rested. I could search, maybe come across some sort of log big enough for me or a cave. A bed would be nice, but that was definitely not out here. I needed to hunt if I wanted strength to move on, but my legs were in no mood to move. Not strong enough to run, and too weak to kill anything bigger than a squirrel it felt like.

I felt doomed.

I dragged my body along the ground, feeling extremely defeated in this moment. Usually, I adored the rain but lying in the icy cold storm was definitely not on my only-happens-in-movies bucket list as Seth liked to refer to it. I picked myself up and tried to calm my chattering teeth as I worked my way towards the trees. I caught the scent of some sort of animal immediately, and nearly cried for joy.

Food.

I searched the thick of the trees until my eyes landed on a bear moving slowly towards a den in the distance.

I blurred forward, the scent of blood giving me strength. I lunged in after it into the cave but froze when I heard squealing cries.

Damnit. It was a mother and that was my number one rule when it came to hunting.

No mothers and no babies.

The bear turned back to my presence and let out a ferocious growl, forcing me to stagger backwards. My legs throbbed as I jumped into action and pushed myself away, back out into the pouring rain.

The bear was right on my heels, snapping and growling.

Since when are bears this fast or am I just that tired? I saw a low branch and lunged towards it, my legs wobbling beneath me. I slid in the mud, and fell forward. I grabbed the base of the tree for support and scrambled up, heaving my body onto a branch so I could climb upwards.

I growled at it in warning, causing it to back down and huff. The bear lunged onto the tree and began to climb towards me.

"Give me a break!" I whined, and shimmied down the branch. I dropped down, my hands coming in contact with the bark and swung my body into the air. I watched as the bear remained in the tree while I took off.

I listened to my surroundings and grew impatient, all I heard was rain and I smelled nothing but the soggy scent of leaves and mud. I slowed my pace and found myself walking with slumped shoulders.

Time passed and soon night fell, my eyes were growing heavy but I knew I shouldn't stop. I walked aimlessly for hours, in no real direction with no real drive. My mind was playing all my memories of Jacob on loop, as if I never would see him again. I was alone. No family, no Jacob.

I was beginning the feel the effects of being freezing cold, and wet. Ice began to form in clusters over my skin and clothing. I tried to pull my cardigan tighter, and cursed myself for not wearing a coat. The rain was seeming to let up, but was being replaced by fluffy snow. The idea of hypothermia began to feel a bit more plausible now. I growled venomously at Washington's wretched weather.

I continued to stomp through the dense pine trees, mutting several curse words under my breah. I usually never felt cold or sick.

But for the first time, I was feeling both.

I grasped a tree as I heaved up the contents of my last meal, my fingers crushing the bark beneath my nails. I slumped my forehead against the tree and felt myself giving up.

My sense of direction was usually very good, but for all I knew in my current state of mind, I was going in damn circles. I thought I passed this particular tree before, but truthfully every tree looked the same in this endless spread of green.

The silence of the night struck me as odd as the snow fluttered to the ground around me. It was beginning to stick as the temperature continued to plummet.

I had gone North; North was Canada. I had to be close, right? I sighed, finding myself wishing for my friend Nahuel in this moment. He always had knowledge on the weather, direction, environment; he lived outside and I did not. The one time we visited his home land, I got us lost trying to insist I knew where we were going in the jungles _he_ grew up in. I frowned to myself at the melancholy I was feeling from my memory.

Nahuel could lead me to my Jacob.

My head slumped back against the tree as I looked up at the canopy of green, now turning white from snow.

"I did this." I mumbled to myself, knowing my existence was the reason for all this heartache. I should have just gone with Aro when he offered as a child.

A snap of a twig brought me out of my thoughts, and I thought I could smell Jacob . . . It was difficult with how runny and clogged my nose was from the climate.

"Jacob?" I asked, hopeful. Scrambling to my feet as fast as I could, but a loud snarling caused me to stumble back.

The bushes rustled, and out jumped a muddy Jacob in wolf form.

I fell to my knees with a relieved sob. "Jake!"

He phased back and had me in his arms within seconds, holding me tighter against him than he had ever held me.

"Ness - you're freezing, honey." He whispered as he lifted me off the ground and cradled me in his arms tightly against his body. "I found her!" Jacob calls into the darkness of night

Not a second passes before my family blurs into the clearing, each and everyone of them. My teeth are chattering so intensely my vision of them is blurry, forcing me to believe I'm seeing things.

"Daddy, Momma." I croak out with a horse voice, shuddering against Jacob. He pulls me tighter into his chest.

I feel a blanket drape over me cautiously, and squint to see it was my Aunt Rosalie who did it. She looked at me with deep set concern on her porcelain face.

"We're here, love. You're not seeing things." My fathers smooth voice tells me as he gazes at me from a few feet away with my mother clutching him.

I wanted nothing more than to reach out and hug them, but I knew my body needed Jacob's warmth right now more than anything. Instinctively my hands clutched onto the soft blanket. I definitely needed warmth.

"Yes, Renesmee. When you're warm and out of this weather, I promise."

I nodded feebly and rested my cheek against Jacob's bare chest. I closed my eyes briefly and inhaled, "I thought I was going to die without you."

Jacob took off in a jog, but I didn't have the energy to ask where we were going.

"Home, mama. We're going home." He whispered against my hair.

With a whimper, I peered down at my hands with bleary eyes.

"My hands aren't touching you, ha - you can read minds now." I mumbled with a delusional smile right as I felt darkness encase my vision.

* * *

I groaned and squeezed my eyes tighter.

"She's coming to."

"Nessie, baby? Nessie, I'm right here. You're alright."

I swallowed to satiate my dry throat and groggily moved my head back and forth to the sound of Jacob's voice. I shifted a bit, and felt hot arms encased around me.

My eyes flashed open as I turned to see Jacob right next to me, in a bed I didn't recognize, in a room that smelled like my family.

I blinked and looked around, taking in the faces I dreamed about nearly every night.

"Momma, Daddy!" I yelled and scrambled to get out of Jacob's arms.

He refused to let go for a moment, and I noticed daddy frown at Jacob.

"She's not going anywhere, Jacob." My father said with slanted eyes. Jacob's grasp loosened and as soon as I was off the bed, I was in their conjoined embrace that I missed so very badly.

The feeling of their cool smooth, marble like skin calmed me instantly; making me feel safe and whole again.

"Oh, Momma." I sobbed, clutching to my mother tighter and burying my face in her mahogany waves.

_I missed you more than you know._

I sent both of them with my gift, and relayed all the times I thought about them.

They looked exactly the same from when we said goodbye in September, yet drastically different.

"It appears, well - we quite missed domesticality." Daddy answered my thoughts and kissed my temple.

I looked around the room between their heads at where we were. It was a bedroom; one I recognized from pictures of my parents. We were in Forks, in their old home in Daddies old bedroom. The room seemed to be to be surrounded by greenery with little spots for light to peak through, something I had always dreamed about seeing. It looked exactly the way momma described it. I was comforted to notice a faint glow casting in from the early sunset through the wall of windows.

I looked at each and everyone of my family members, meeting their amber eyes happily. Aunt Rose and Uncle Emmett were sitting on a sleek white sofa bed against the glass, and I noticed books stacked high on the floor next to them. A few lamps were dimly lit and I peered at the warm and eclectic artwork that hung from the walls. it all made for creating an relaxing environment.

_Or that was just my Uncle Jasper._

I glanced at my blonde uncle who adverted his sheepish gaze to my Aunt Alice.

I let out a happy, tearful chuckle while I pulled away. "Are you staying for Christmas?"

My parents furrowed their brows in unison, but Momma smiled through it. She was hiding something.

"Renesmee -" My father began as he reach out towards me with a crooked smile that looked all to guilty.

I narrowed my eyes and stepped back. Jacob's hot arms encased me from behind and lifted me back into the bed. "Yeah, Edward. Are you?" Jacob said with a dark laugh against my hair.

"Is this about the vampires Jacob killed?" I pressed with a narrowed glance. "Tell me."

My voice was demanding and bold.

"Someone put a muzzle on that dog." Aunt Rose hissed while she blurred to a stance.

I felt my body seethe with hot fury at her disrespect for Jacob.

"Don't talk to my Jacob like that!" I screamed surprisingly loud, forcing all of my vampire relatives to flinch at my pitch.

"Renesmee, sweetheart." Momma began with a sympathetic smile, trying to divert me from any further outbursts. She gracefully slid down to her knees and grasped my hands with her own, cool ones. "We need to tell you something."

I began to feel panic constrict my airways. Was it Seth?

"Seth's fine." Daddy told me calmly, and stood behind my mother. Jacob's grasp tightened around me as his whole body stiffened being in this close of proximity of my parents.

"Renesmee . . . we didn't tell you the truth." Momma said softly, her amber eyes sparkling with tears that would never fall.

"What's going on?" I growled impatiently as the panic soared through me.

"The Volturi are coming, Renesmee. They want you."


	24. The Vision

**A/N:** Hi all! Sorry for being gone so long, life got really busy for me. I struggled a bit with this chapter, so let me know what you think! Should the next chapter be partial Jacob POV or full?

* * *

Chapter Twenty-Four – The Vision

* * *

_I've tasted blood and it is sweet  
I've had the rug pulled beneath my feet  
I've trusted lies and trusted men  
__broke down and put myself back together again_

_-halsey, nightmare_

oOoOo

"_The Volturi are coming, Renesmee. They want you."_

"W-what?" I stuttered, and glanced back to Jacob. His eyes were cast down at the ground. My gaze trailed to his balled hands, that were clasped so tight against his thighs his copper knuckles were turning as white as the bone beneath.

When he squeezed his eyes tightly shut, I found myself angering.

"Did you know?" My voice coming barely above a heated whisper.

He sharply inhaled but kept his eyes on the ground. "Not everything."

With scrutiny, I looked to daddy while standing aggressively. I narrowed my eyes at my family stiffly placed around the room. "What does everything entail?"

Their solemn, amber eyes spoke for the silence that encompassed the room.

"WHAT IS EVERYTHING?!"

They all winced at the pitch of my voice, but remained silent.

I began to pace as low growls came from deep within my chest, finding myself thinking back to the day _they_ came and assaulted my mind.

"I don't understand!" I shouted to myself, knowing very well I was the only one out of the loop.

While waiting for a reply, the only sound in the room was Jacob and I's beating hearts along with my ragged, distressed breathing.

"We didn't want to frighten you, love." Daddy announced cautiously.

Stopping mid pace, I flashed a heated glare at him. "Then tell me what's going on!"

My parent's looked distressed, a rare emotion for either of them. Just as I was about to shout another demand, I heard a third heartbeat just beyond the door and knew instantly who it was.

"Maybe I could." Nahuel announced as he pushed open the door.

"Nahuel?" My voice raised a pitch as I flew into his arms. I hadn't known the fate of my hybrid friend, and had a lot of fears he would be captured after he left just like his sisters.

I heard Jacob growl lowly, but chose to ignore it seeing as he nor my family were willing to _enlighten_ me on what was going on. I pulled away and stared into my friends dark brown eyes.

"Tell me, please."

He nodded, squeezing my shoulders with a deep breath as if it would give him the confidence he needed. "After you left, I went in search of my father and sisters. I had found my father, Joham, in grief and shock deep within the Chilean forests. The Volturi had taken every one of my half-siblings, including a new, infant sister. He had remained in a profound sedated and catatonic state until I brought him out of it. I had always sought vengeance for my father's inability to love us; but seeing him in that . . . mindset . . . made me realize he does love us. In his own _nefando_ way."

My hand reached out to grasp his in sympathy.

"He took his life before my eyes shortly after that; throwing himself into a fire. Alice had seen this and your family found me in the midst of it all. They were trailing after me to warn me of my father's predicted demise." Nahuel finished, looking away from my face with regret. I watched closely as my pixie aunt flitted towards us, and gave me a pursed grimace.

"When I touched Nahuel's arm that day, I had another vision. It was as if suddenly my visions of hybrids cleared and I could see perfectly. I don't know why; no one does. What I saw was something that blindsided us all. I saw your potential; your gift in way's we never imagined possible. Right after, we knew that in time Aro would make up his mind. It became crystal clear that he would have you despite his promise to leave you alone." Alice reached towards me, but I jumped back. _I still feel betrayed._

Carlisle stepped close to me, grabbing my attention. "That was when we decided we had to try and gather every friend and witness we could find. So many are willing to fight on your behalf, Renesmee. We arrived a few hours ago, right before the trackers from Volturi had located you and the pack." He spoke calmly, his comforting gaze boring into my own.

"Are the Volturi . . . here?" I whimpered, and found myself falling back against Jacob who wrapped protective arms around me. Even if I was irate with him for withholding information, I still needed his comfort. I _craved_ it.

"No, Nessie." Jacob whispered into my ear and held me tightly.

"Neither are the witness'. They are all coming here when the time has come for us to band together." Carlisle told me gently with a warm smile. "They are very excited to meet you, Renesmee."

"What happened to the vampires that attacked you and Seth?" I blurted out behind my shoulder to Jacob, even though I assumed they had been killed.

"Seth and I handled them." Jacob confirmed into my shoulder before placing a chaste kiss there.

I furrowed my brows and turned my head to look at him. His eyes glanced up but the rest of his face remained nuzzled into my shoulder. "The one following me, too?"

"We caught up to him as soon as we lost your scent; Seth handled him while I tracked you down. You swim faster than I run." He whispered with a small smile against my skin, the feeling of his teeth grazing me sent goose bumps across my flesh.

I inhaled deeply and shook my head as if it would help clear my rambling thoughts. "I have so many questions."

I sensed daddy walk up to Jacob and I, kneeling down in front of us to look me in the eyes. "I will answer every single one."

We had talked well into the night, and dad did answer every question I had. It had been revealed that no one lied to me; but that everything changed when Alice had the vision of Aro's greed and my . . . budding _talents_. Alice's vision was unlike any other. A vision of me in the midst of a battle; my palms pressed to vampires in passing. Each vampire, falling to the ground in crippling pain. She described it as if my voice was echoing in her mind; with every passing echo, indescribable pain and suffering followed. It was as if my hands were now shone in a horrible, vilified light.

The most important question was answered last; the Volturi would come at the first sign of spring; when the leaves begin their budding.

Which meant, we had time. Time I had not expected to have when I first learned they were coming. Time could be dangerous, however. This meant the Volturi also had time to gather their own witness' and prepare a strategy to take me. Alice's vision showed nothing besides my enhanced abilities, but she continued to look. She sat on the floor, with her head in her hands and her eyes squeezed shut as she spoke to herself. As if she was willing her gift to let her see more.

I was irate over the fact that they had withheld this from us for months, out of fear that I would be scared. I was the opposite, in fact. The news made me feel strong and determined. I wasn't some little girl who would run and hide over this, not this time. I would face them. It was as if a switch within me flipped, and viewed myself in a new light. A powerful, resilient light. I knew it was mostly out of seeking my own vengeance on the attack I faced that fateful day, but I didn't care.

As I laid next to Jacob in my father's old bedroom; I focused on his deep, even breathing while he slept. My mind was still racing and I was unable to find any solace. As soon as I knew a war was coming, there was only one thing I wanted more than anything. More than my own life.

I wanted to be Jacob's wife.

Jacob had the same thoughts, discussing it with me the moment we were alone. He had silently asked for daddy's blessing, only to be returned with a sharp 'no'.

Sighing, I slipped out from under his strong arm that was draped over my stomach and flitted out of the room. I wandered around and took in more of the home I always wanted to see as a little girl. Exotic paintings hung on the hallway walls, appearing even more divine from the moonlights deep glow casting in from the huge windows.

"Can't sleep?" Daddy's calm voice spoke from behind me, causing me to jump and slap my hand over my mouth to cover my gasp.

I spun on my heel and gave him a sheepish glance. "Sorry – I got used to the sound of steps."

Daddy flashed his crooked grin and touched my cheek tenderly. "What's troubling you?"

I rolled my eyes, he was very good at trying to pretend he didn't already know every thought I had._ As if you don't already know._

He chuckled, pulling me into his side to lead me towards a closed door. He opened it and motioned me in, silently following.

I looked around at the walls lined with books before spotting a couch and plopping onto it dramatically. I knew a lecture was brimming.

"Hearing it out loud it is different than within."

I shook my head and watched him as he seemingly glided across the room to pick up a book off one of the many shelves. My eyes focused in on the title; Romeo and Juliet.

"Really?" I said callously.

I saw his smirk as he set the book back. "_Go wisely and slowly. Those who rush stumble and fall."_

"You and momma rushed." I protested snidely.

Daddy chuckled and shook his head. "I had waited for your mother for 106 years."

"Well, I've been –"

He shot me a pointed look. "You have been alive for _seven_ years, Renesmee. Why are you wanting to rush this?"

"Because I might only be alive for _less_ than eight."

His eyebrows drew together in distress. "We would never allow that to happen."

"All we know is what Alice saw; my gift enhancing. You could die. Momma could. Jacob could. I could. If I'm going to die; I want to die married to him. I want to be his wife." I demanded and shot up out of my seat.

"You're too young to consider this."

I scoffed, "Really, dad? You of all people should understand. Momma was eighteen when you got married. Momma was nineteen when she _burned_. You want to talk about age?"

"You're seven years' old, for mercy's sake!"

I pulled on the hair at my scalp in frustration and stared him down with a heated glare. His amber eyes burned with equal amounts of fury.

"Do I look seven?!" I snarled as I picked up the couch. "Can seven year olds do this?!"

"Renesmee Carlie Cullen!" I heard my mother chide and I found myself dropping the couch back down with a quiet thump.

"If you didn't want us to get married then why did you give us marriage licenses; why did you give us the same last names on our identification cards?" I shouted this time, directing my rage at my mother.

Her wide amber eyes seemed to triple in size from my outburst. Then they narrowed at my father.

"Edward?"

He threw his hands in the air. "I can't believe you don't feel the same way as I do, Bella. She's our little girl!"

She ran her hands through her mahogany locks and blurred over to him. "Our little girl who's grown now. I accepted it the moment she told me how she felt about him, Edward. She had that same look in her eyes that I did. She still does. It's time you accept it, too."

My fathers resolve melted with every word my mother spoke, his expression softened as he looked back at me.

"You really want this?"

I bit my lip and nodded, "More than anything."

He pinched the bridge of his nose with a sigh before letting his head fall into the crook of my mother's neck. She smiled, and pushed him off her gently. Their eyes met for the briefest of moments, and I knew they were having a silent conversation as he subtly nodded.

Without looking away from her eyes, he sighed. "I will give Jacob my blessing in the morning."

I squealed and ran over to my parents, throwing myself into their arms willingly. "Thank you."

I rushed out of the room and back to Jacob, who was still soundly asleep. I slipped under the covers and snuggled back into his chest, falling into a deep and peaceful sleep.

* * *

I hummed to myself as I cooked breakfast for Jacob and I, something I had grown to love doing. Being surrounded by humans everyday helped me develop a really enjoyment for human food. Most of my family was out patrolling Forks while the pack searched through La Push for any sign of more vampires. I knew Jacob had to get to them and would be gone most of the day, so the least I could do was send him off with a full stomach.

I could hear Jacob's heartbeat upstairs as he woke up, speeding up for a moment when he realized I wasn't right next to him.

"In here." I announced a bit loudly, helping him locate me with his hearing like I knew he would be trying to do.

A minute passed, as well as the sound of his large frame thumping down the stairs and into the kitchen.

I turned and place a hand on my hip and tossed him a flirtatious smile. "Hey there, hot stuff." I greeted. "Hungry?"

He snorted and sauntered over to me, his bare torso's rippling muscles teasing me with every step. "If you're on the menu." He teased as he picked me up by my waist, placing me gently on the island counter.

I couldn't help the giggle that escaped my lips as I instinctively wrapped my arms and legs around him. "Would that _satisfy_ you?"

"Ahem." My father's silky voice announced, forcing both of us to snap our necks around to look at him.

"Morning, daddy." I whispered with heated cheeks.

Jacob shifted awkwardly and slid away from me with wide eyes, causing daddy to smirk.

"Jacob, a word?"

I felt butterflies flutter throughout my belly with anticipation, knowing exactly what kind of conversation they were about to have.


	25. Why Are Werewolves Better Than Vampires?

**A/N:** Hi all, another update. A new review pointed out in two separate chapters Nessie and Jake had the "I used to love your mom" conversation, thank you! I went back and updated those chapters. It's edited now, but doesn't change the structure of the story at all. Just a minor hiccup. After 100k+ words sometimes my brain scrambles dialogue together LOL. This is a split POV chapter, I had fun writing this one. I'm getting so excited for all the future romance and action I'm about to pack into the second half of this story! Whew! Can't believe we're TWENTY-FIVE chapters in.

* * *

Chapter Twenty-Five: So, Why Are Werewolves Better Than Vampires?

* * *

_'cause from the moment that I saw your face_  
_and felt the fire of your sweet embrace_  
_I swear I knew_  
_I wanna love you forever_

_\- jessica simpson, with you_

oOoOo

"Jacob, a word?" Eddie's voice called to me with a raised eyebrow. I stiffened and exhaled with a grunt and pulled away from Nessie's grip. Her heartbeat sped up, forcing me to look her over to make sure she was fine.

"Go – I'm alright." She mumbled with a blush, looking to her clasped hands in her lap. I saw the smallest smile ghosting at her rose bud lips. I shrugged and kissed the top of her head before making my way out to the back porch with Edward.

"What's up, Eddie?" I questioned lamely with a yawn. I leaned my back against the railing and crossed my arms over my chest authoritatively.

Edward rolled his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose with a huff. "You can relax, Jacob."

_Yeah, okay._

Edward's creepy yellow eyes pierced into mine and his pupil's dilated for the briefest of moments.

"We need to talk."

I rolled my eyes and gave him a blank stare. "I think you've said plenty." I suggested, thinking back to our conversation yesterday when he flat out refused to let me ask Nessie to marry me. What, because he was back around suddenly it was out of the question? Surprise Edward, she loves me more!

His eyes sharpened into a narrowed glare and he let out a low growl. "Watch yourself, dog."

I scoffed, this family and their dog references never failed to amuse me. "Vampire killing dog." I muttered and lifted myself off the railing to jump down to the ground below. I landed easily on the balls of my feet and turned to look up at him, still standing on the porch.

He glanced down at me before blurring to stand next to me. "Come, out of Renesmee's range of hearing." He grumbled and began walking towards the woods.

"Nuh, uh. Not a chance. If you're going to kill me, it'll have to be here."

He let out a long, dejected sigh. "Jacob. If I was going to kill you, you would be dead already. I'm trying to give you my blessing if you'd just quit yapping."

My eyes widened as I trailed after him. I knew Nessie's hearing was strained here, but he clearly wasn't taking any chances for her to hear which meant he had more to say than just that.

"Yes, I do have more."

Stupid, mind reading leech. Get out of my head.

"Your thoughts are awfully loud and hard to overlook, I'm afraid. I would love to ignore you if I could."

I rolled my eyes and caught up to him, but kept a good five feet away to try and avoid his stench.

"Appreciated."

"So, what else then Eddie?" I snapped and swung my arms obnoxiously around. I don't know why, maybe just to irritate him further.

"You and I both know we would rather have Renesmee stay out of this fight. But, we also know she's quite determined and Alice saw her there which means no matter what; Renesmee will be fighting. We are going to protect her at all costs, she's not as strong as full vampires and she's their _main_ target. Jasper will begin combat training once you leave to inform the pack, and we should set up a schedule of patrolling the state. The Volturi will be here around March – we don't have an exact date but will be watching the weather closely for any signs of Spring. With that said, Renesmee has expressed a great deal that you two would like to be married. Again, she's determined. I know you have been planning to ask her for some time, but haven't had the courage to do so –"

I never had a good enough time! It has to be perfect!

"There's never a right time, Jacob. She would say yes no matter where or what you did. You know this." He told me with annoyance. "As much as I hate it, there is no one else I can trust her with than you. This . . . bond. Your imprint. I see it from both sides. It's far more binding than even Bella and I's relationship. You two compliment each other, orbit each other – it's intimidating to see. But, it's exactly what my daughter deserves. She deserves someone as loyal and dedicated to her as you are."

I felt my face spread into a wide smile and I stopped my swinging to glance over at him. "I know it's taken some time for you to understand. That first night when you saw I imprinted on her from my thoughts, I assumed I'd never get the chance but you've been pretty understanding. Surprising."

"Yes, well, you have done a lot for my family even before Renesmee. Now, you're doing more than I could have imagined. I _am_ thankful for you, Jacob. Don't let that get to your already inflated ego." He teased, the hint of a smile was on his face.

Awe. Are we becoming friends now, Eddie?

"Please stop calling me that – and I'm learning to tolerate you. Seeing as how you're going to be around for the rest of eternity."

I slapped his ridged stone back with my palm and let out an exuberant laugh of triumph. "So, why are werewolves better than vampires?"

"Jacob." He growled.

"Werewolves don't have a problem with STEAKS!" I said with booming laughter, doubling over to clutch my sides as I howled.

"If your joke's don't get better in the next hundred years, I might have to rip my eardrums out." He groveled and began walking back towards the house.

I smirked and shrugged while wiping the tears from my eyes. "Nessie think's I'm hilarious."

I saw him roll his eyes with a shake of his head. "Yes, well – neither her mother or I spent a lot of time telling jokes so her par on humor is quite low."

I barreled up the stairs towards the back porch after Edward, and walked into the kitchen with a wide grin as soon as I saw Nessie sitting on the counter sipping a cup of coffee.

"Hey, baby." I announced as I sauntered towards her. She gave me a mischievous smirk and set her mug down so I could scoop her up. I picked her up bridal style and spun around the large kitchen, eliciting nervous giggles from her. God, I loved her laugh.

"What do you say we go to the cliffs to watch the sunset when I'm done patrolling, alright? I'll be back around five." I suggested with a waggle of my eyebrows. Nessie's favorite place in La Push was the cliffs – for more than just the view.

Mostly because every time we went there it resulted in a _very_ happy ending.

I set her back down on the counter and her cheeks flushed against her wide grin. I brushed a few loose strands of hair from her face that had fallen from the bun she had neatly pulled up half her hair into, a favorite of mine. Nessie looked amazing no matter what, but for some reason when she did her hair like this it drove me wild.

"Okay, Jake. I'd love that."

Oh, you will.

"You're so beautiful, Ness." I murmured, imagining her later tonight at the cliffs with her wild copper curls blowing with the ocean breeze as I looked up at her from my spot down on one knee. "I love you."

Yeah, tonight was definitely the night. I wasn't going to wait any longer.

She blushed and touched my cheek tenderly with her left hand that would soon be donned with a sparkly diamond ring in a few hours.

"I love you, my Jacob. Go eat your breakfast before I steal you away." She teased and gently nudged me towards the plate that sat on the table.

I raised my eyebrows suggestively, oh how I would love if you stole me away, baby.

"Don't give me any ideas . . ."

Her wide, chocolate pools rolled and she took a sip from her mug with a tiny smirk. "Oh, I already know you have _plenty._"

"You two are so gross." Seth grumbled as he barged into the kitchen.

I shot a narrowed glance to my beta that screamed 'watch it'.

"Oh, hi Seth. I didn't know you'd be coming over." Nessie said with surprise as she hopped off the counter. "Are you hungry?"

I watched in the corner of my eye as Nessie hastily moved to begin preparing more food, per usual whenever one of the guys came around. She had really grown to enjoy this side of our world, which surprised me more and more everyday. I had never expected or wanted her to do anything she did for the pack, but I think her friendship with the other imprints really drove her to do so. When she saw how happy and excited the guys were whenever anyone mentioned Emily as "pack mom", I think she wanted to prove she was more and could provide the same to them. It was just another form of her selflessness.

Seth's face lit up and he nodded enthusiastically. "Uh, is that even a question?"

I groaned and sat down in front of my food, digging in without another glance. "Do you ever eat if Nessie isn't feeding you?" I grumbled between mouthfuls of delicious pancakes.

"Jake, leave him alone." She playfully chided at me with a wink. "Soon, Seth's gonna get a girlfriend and you'll miss him hanging around us all the time."

Seth's face fell and he slumped into the island chair. "Yeah, fat chance. I'll never imprint."

"That's not true." She replied willfully.

Seth shook his head and rested his hands on his cheeks dramatically.

"Just be patient." I reminded him.

"Bodhi has been a wolf for less than a year and he imprinted before me! He's sixteen!"

Seth had become increasingly apathetic and annoying over the subject of imprinting in the last month. I mean, he always was annoying but even more after one of the new pups imprinted on a Makah girl a few weeks ago.

"One of you aren't ready for the bond." Nessie suggested as she flipped a pancake.

He replied with a scoff. "I was _born_ ready."

"She isn't." Nessie shot back while swatting his head with her spatula and placing a plate of pancakes in front of him.

"You could date if you're so lonely." Emmett suggested as he clambered into the room. "What's with all you wolves and imprinting as if it's the only way to get laid? When I was human . . . boy. The ladies could not resist me."

Nessie snorted and threw a pancake at her burly uncle, only for Seth to catch it mid air and shove it into his mouth. "Don waste muh food!" He yelled with a mouthful.

I sighed and picked up my empty plate and glared at both of them before setting the dirty dish in the sink, just so I could grab Nessie with free hands. I moved the hair over her shoulder to expose her porcelain neck and laid a gentle kiss there.

I could feel her skin heat up beneath my lips at the show of affection in front of them, but I didn't care. She was mine. She spun around and placed both hands on my chest with a pointed look.

"Are you leaving?" She asked with a sad pout, her eyes widening even further for effect.

I groaned and dipped down to sweep her lips into a warm kiss. "I don't want to." I murmured before pulling back. "I'll see you in a few hours."

She wrapped her tiny hands around my neck and pulled herself up on her tip toes. "What should I wear?" She innocently questioned.

I shrugged and felt a smile breaking out of my face. "You look pretty in everything, baby."

Her lips pursed and a spark of excitement crossed her features. "Red or white?"

I swallowed thickly when she projected images of herself in two very _skimpy_, very _sexy _pairs of lingerie.

"W – white." I stuttered and pulled her against me to hide what she was doing to me. She giggled wickedly and threw her arms around my neck.

"I love you, go before Seth eats the whole kitchen." She told me with a whisper in my ear and we both eyed Seth who stood in the walk in pantry, rummaging around for more food. He craned his neck around and grinned, crumbs falling out of his mouth and onto the floor.

"What?"

I groaned and kissed Nessie one more time before grabbed Seth by the shoulder and pulling him along with me.

"Love you, Ness!" I called over my shoulder and winked at her before shoving Seth out the back door.

We both jumped off the second story porch, landing easily on our feet. I used my fingertips to touch the ground to stable myself before standing up and stripping out of my shorts. I tied them to my leather band around my ankle and took off running before phasing mid stride. I smirked right as the wolf took over my body, knowing Nessie flitted to the porch to watch me leave.

"_Can't wait to see that little outfit . . ." _I thought to myself with hunger. Seth phased right after, just as I was closing off the side of my mind that contained all of my secret Nessie thoughts. Alpha perks.

"_Ew, please do not picture your leech girlfriend in lingerie." _Leah's voice rang in my head. I could see from her point of view she was waiting on First Beach, hidden away in our usual meeting spot, with the rest of the pack.

"_Oh, on the contrary – please do."_ Embry snickered and I could see his tail began wagging through the linked minds.

"_I swear, Embry . . ." _I warned with a mental snarl.

"_She's a hot leech. I don't blame him." _Kai agreed, and I watched as Paul shoulder checked him.

"_I'm gonna bite you. First Rachel, now Nessie? Come on, man." _Paul growled in annoyance. I was met with mental yips of laughter amongst the rest of them. Seth and I ran in silence as the rest of the pack made up for it with their own mental chatter. I felt them all picking around in my brain for information, and accidentally let slip part of my proposal plan.

"_Oh shit, you're finally doing it!"_ Seth spoke up and nudged me playfully with his shoulder.

I rolled my wolf eyes as we continued to run back towards La Push.

"_Yeah, Daddy vamp gave me a whole speech."_ I groaned and replayed our conversation.

"_That was a terrible joke."_ Quil snickered.

"_Shut the fuck up."_

Leah laughed bitterly,_ "I can't believe you're about to propose to Bella's daughter. Ha." _

"_Leah, can it."_ Jared snapped towards her, baring his teeth.

"_I think it's awesome. It's like the imprint was always there."_ Bodhi quipped, his own mind filling with the image of his new imprint.

"_All you pups with imprints are the same. You act like she's going to be your Messiah."_

"_You're just jealous you'll never imprint because you're a girl." _Brady muttered and flashed around the images of all the imprints to rub in her face.

"_I'm gonna kick your ass, Fuller!"_ Leah growled as she lunged for him.

Just as she was about to tackle him, Seth and I passed through the tree line and bounded over the fallen trees and boulders.

"_Enough!" _I commanded and bared my teeth around the wolves. They began to circle around me with their heads low.

"_We're going to have to step up our patrols and further the perimeter. The Bloodsuckers will be here sometime in March, the pixie one can't see everything, since we get in the way. But - she's seeing pieces. A lot of our focus will be centered around Renesmee. She's going to be there, and according to the vision the pixie had she will be fighting." _I began as I stood tall, my wolf eyes glancing over them all.

"_No way."_ Quil gasped.

"_That's stupid!" _Leah snapped.

"_She's gonna get hurt." _Paul warned.

"_I'm not happy about it. They'll be training her, but that only goes so far when you're up against an army of vampires. We haven't decided if she should be on the front lines with myself, Bella and Edward or if she should be in the middle of everyone. I want her close to me but I need to be in front so I might have to sacrifice being her major protector. Seth will be flanking her as of now. Apparently, she has some potential for her gift to expand and they're working on it. We might be asked for her to test it on us and I don't want a single complaint. She is apart of this pack and we will do our share to protect her, no matter what."_

"_What about our imprints?" _Bodhi questioned sadly.

"_Sam has volunteered to stay with them all, as well as Esme. I might send Paul or Jared for safe measures once we assess how many are going to be against us."_

The imprinted wolves whined as they thought about being away from their loved ones.

"_It's going to be incredibly hard, I don't know how long this will last. We will be pushed to our limits but we must prepare and focus over the next two months. One of the Cullen's was a soldier as a human, and an expert in vampire wars so he will be setting up times to train us all on tactics and methods."_

"_Lovely, leeches teaching us how to kill leeches?" _Leah rolled her eyes and laid down. _"I'll pass."_

"_Run your patrol to the border, now!" _I snarled loudly with my Alpha command and bared my teeth in her face.

She replied with a whimper and took off, unable to avoid my alpha command.

"_If anyone else has something smart to say, you'll be running for twenty-four hours. Got it?"_

As I barked out patrol points, my mind began to trail over to Nessie. I wonder what she was doing . . .

* * *

I stared down at my hands hard in concentration, my eyes scanning the lines in my palms and the round curve of my nails. I was supposed to be able to project currents of – well, we weren't sure. It wasn't like our cousin from Denali's gift, Kate, with her psychic electro-kinesis. Alice stated it was different. It wasn't physical, it was mentally debilitating. As if I took over her mind with projections of pain and suffering that felt real.

My head shot up to stare at Uncle Jasper, who had assigned himself as my combat trainer.

"What if it's like Jane?"

My eyes landed to Aunt Alice who shook her head. "No – it was still your gift. It was still your thoughts, but – more."

I groaned and rested my head against the tree with a _thump_ and stared up at the treetops. The trees here were large and perfect for camouflage, no doubt why they picked this spot to build a house all those years ago.

"That doesn't help." I groaned and pushed myself up off the dirt. "Everything I show you does nothing!"

Jasper's brows were furrowed together as he crossed his arms in thought. "Gift's take time to develop. But, you've always had a knack for excelling and this is only day one of your trainin', little girl. Don't get so down. The Denali's will be here soon to help."

The morning had consisted of defensive training. How to avoid being grabbed, ways to run, how I could kill a vampire with my bare hands. I had never expected momma and daddy to let me fight, but it was obvious that I was going to be there regardless. They'd rather have me prepared, then in the unknown.

Jacob on the other hand . . . expressed he was not fond of the idea _at all_.

"Try and think of all your painful memories or experiences you've ever had." Alice suggested while flipping through a magazine idly. Her amber eyes flashed to meet mine as a small smile graced her porcelain face.

I stared back and sighed, "I haven't exactly had a hard life, Alice."

"Think of the only bad thing that's ever happened then." Jasper pointed out this time, no doubt alluding to Aro's visit.

The most painful experience I had ever had was Emilian's projections. When he trapped me inside my own mind. Using his tactics would definitely help me focus on projecting similar feelings, but fear alone was stopping me from wanting to go down that path.

"It hurts." I whimpered, wincing at the memories flickering like a film reel in my mind.

"Fuel your fire, darlin'."

I closed my eyes and inhaled deeply, letting out steady breaths as I focused on that day. Aro's voice ringing in my mind_. . . the path towards mind domination._

I held out my palm to place it in Jaspers, and felt him squeeze it in reassurance.

Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. Exhale.

I listened to the sound of Alice flipping the thin pages, Jasper's pacing, the birds singing, the winter wind whipping my hair past my head, the Earth worms deep in the dirt below my feet, the deer in the distance grazing for hidden grass and soon I had conjured up the mental image around me of a meadow. It was a simple projection. An uneven, circular clearing with tall grass blown sideways by thick winds. Large, intimidating tree's surrounding, and soon my projection began to shift towards something eerie. The tree's were holding sinister creature's, calling out to us with their growls and screams. Beckoning us past the safety of the exposed clearing. I was beginning to feel myself frighten, but pushed it down. I had to keep going.

I could feel the dry grass brushing against my legs as I walked alongside Jasper silently. I couldn't see him, but I could feel him next to me. I tried to imagine fog settling in from the dark forest. At first, it was a mere mist but soon it was billowing all around us. Dark and uninviting mist shrouded in black and purple hues. Dangerous mist that would suck us in and destroy us if it reached the very spot we stood.

"Uncle Jasper?" I called out, and mustered up any way I could see him.

"Keep going." His calm, drawled voice replied. He sounded so far away.

_Focus, Nessie._

I fixated all of my pain and suffering of Emilian's tricks into the mist. I heard his voice echoing from within the dense clouds. Power. Darkness. Pain. Power. Darkness. Pain. Power. Darkness. Pain.

I don't know how long I had been chanting, but it had felt as if only seconds went by before cool arms pulled me back, snapping me out of my trance. My eyes flew open as I looked around the yard. Seven sets of amber eyes stared at me in shock.

"What happened?" I hoarsely questioned as my vision focused on Uncle Jasper laying on the snowy ground; writhing. "Jasper!"

My eyes flashed to dad who looked troubled as he glanced between my vampire uncle and myself. "You – you projected. Without touching him."

"No – I had his palm in my hand . . ."

"I let go." Jasper croaked as he pulled himself up with the help of Emmett and Alice.

"_What _did I project?"

Jasper shook his head and dusted off his pants. "It was just a meadow, at first. Then it was this _mist_. It was painful and all I could hear was your voice . . . chanting. It forced me in. I tried to pull away from you, but it didn't stop it from taking me."

"She showed you what Emilian did to her, except Renesmee's projection was . . . much, _much_ more." Dad said with a quiet tremor.

I put my face in my hands and felt tears well up. "Oh, Uncle Jazz! I'm sorry!"

I felt a pair of cool hands pry my own from my face and looked up through tear soaked lashes to see my blonde uncle smiling at me. "I've had worse done to me, little girl. Don't get all worked up over me, you hear? We'll keep practicing but that was very good. Now we just have to focus and make that stronger." His southern drawl slipped out and my usually reserved uncle appeared more than pleased, regardless of my unintentional attack on his psyche.

"How – how did it hurt? Where?" I asked in a small voice.

He let out a soft sigh through his nose, "Sort of all over, I guess. At first, I could still see and think. But, then all I heard was your voice and that's when I saw the clouds of mist. It surrounded me. I _felt_ the word's you were thinking . . . It was quite the out of body, out of mind experience. Not one I've had since I was a soldier in the confederate army and we passed around chloro –"

"Alright – Jazz." Alice cut in with a sharp glare. "Renesmee, try on me. I promise – I'll be fine. I need to see if it matches my vision."

I took a few steps back, my boots crunching in the snow. I shook my head vigorously. "No way. I won't hurt any of you guys."

She smiled and shrugged. "You're talking to the girl who got electro shock therapy. Trust me – I'll be fine."

"Alice!" My father hissed with clenched teeth and rigid chords in his neck.

I had practiced on my pixie aunt, and continued the rest of the morning practicing on my family members, unwillingly might I add. Each vision I tried to change what they saw, but all I could focus on was the mist or water. They were either being drowned by water or by mist. Not exactly pleasant to see my family members all struggling in pain from my doing.

"I refuse to touch Grandma and Grandpa – no way."

Granma Esme gave me a warm smile per usual, which only made me feel worse.

"Carlisle is much stronger than all of us, Renesmee. He's as old as Aro. We need to know if it will have the same effect." Jasper suggested.

"I can't!" I shouted with a jutted chin. "I refuse."

"What are you refusing?" Jacob's husky voice announced from behind me. I spun on my heel and my eyes lit up with excitement. He clearly had just phased back as he was buttoning up his jean cut offs and was glistening with sweat.

I had never been more glad to see him than I was right now. Was it that late already?

"Jake!" I squealed as I flew into his arms. His laughter echoed around me as he hugged me tightly.

"Hey, mama. I missed you." He whispered into my ear and nuzzled his nose into my messy curls. I smiled, hugging him tighter to inhale his woodsy scent. Safe.

"I missed you more." I announced as I tilted my head upwards.

He leaned down to brush his lips against mine, causing us both to smile into each other's mouths. Ugh, had it really been that long since I've kissed him?

I nipped his lip playfully and pulled away with a twirl. "I've been training all day, you saved Grandma and Grandpa from being my _guinea pigs_!"

His eyebrows furrowed as he glanced around. My usual cleanly family were covered in mud and ice crystals, all wearing thick grimaces as they were _still _recovering from my projections.

"You all look like shit." Jacob noted with a smirk. "Damn, baby. I would have paid to see you hand it to them."

Daddy snorted, resulting in a sharp glare from my mother which cut his amusement short.

"She's a maniac." Uncle Emmett muttered from the ground, still laying where he fell from my last projection. "She drowned me!"

Jacob's dark eyes snapped to mine, his eyebrows lifting so high with surprise it formed wrinkles in his usually smooth, copper forehead. "You did what?"

Now, how to explain to my shape-shifting, alpha of a boyfriend that I could 'put a grown man on his ass' per Emmett's words . . .

"You could show him." Daddy suggested.

My eyes widened in horror as I looked over at my father. _How could you even suggest that?_

"Show me, Nessie." Jacob demanded while crossing his arms, something he did whenever he was trying to be intimidating.

I bit my lip and backed away. Even if he looked incredibly sexy as he stood tall and gave me his best 'I'm the alpha' side, I still wouldn't do that to him.

I shook my head vigorously. "No – no way. We got to get to the cliff's anyways for our date, yeah? I'll be right back!" I yelled as I ran up the back porch stairs and inside.

"Renesmee – what are you doing?" Alice called in a sing-song voice as she trailed in after me.

I blinked and spun around, giving her a tight smile. "Well . . . I need to change but I don't have anything –"

"Say no more!" She chirped as she shuffled me up the stairs towards what I presumed to be her and Uncle Jaspers old bedroom.

I noticed a row of books on fashion, stock marketing, and clairvoyance all lining the wall on a neat white shelf, as well as a large print of a sketched dress and a rather eclectic tribal painting. I paid no mind, Alice _is_ rather eccentric. Her closet was nothing short of typical. Three sets of walk in closets stood, with long billowing curtains framing their entrances. I couldn't act surprised.

"Alice, you're not even my size." I groaned as I shuffled into one of the closets behind her. "Plus – you know my style. It's nothing like yours."

She rolled her eyes, "Oh pish posh. I saw this date already and I know exactly what you're wearing."

She sat me down on one of the benches and scuffled around her closet at lightning speed. She had pulled out a thick, tan cable knit sweater that was a bit cropped and had a turtle neck. She eyed it with a smile and tossed it at me.

"On." Was all she commanded and I obliged without complaint, not wanting scary-outfit-planning-Aunt-Alice to come out.

I ripped my t-shirt off and pulled on the sweater, noting it was quite soft and comfortable.

Just as I was admiring the sweater, she brought me a blue chiffon skirt, layered several times over with a pretty print, made up of white and orange flowers. "Yes, this is exactly what I saw!"

I sighed and pulled off my leggings, pulling the skirt on to lay snug on my waist. Alice fiddled with the sweater, tucking it into the skirt and synching my waist in with a hefty brown belt. I took the brown, suede boots from her tiny hands and slide my feet into them easily. One thing I was thankful for in this moment was that our shoe size was the exact same. I looked in one of the large mirrors and admired her fashion sense.

"I look so . . . sophisticated." I noted.

Alice smiled smugly to herself and went to pull my hair down from its half up do.

"No! No, please. Jake likes it like this." I murmured and moved my hands to my hair where I fixed what she had already began to fiddle with.

"Really?" She said with curiosity glinting in her eyes.

I nodded and pulled my hair around to flow behind my back. "I mean – I think. He just always comments that he likes it whenever I do it like this."

She smiled warmly at me in the mirror and touched my shoulders gently. "I'm really happy you have him, Renesmee. I feel like we haven't been able to talk much, but I just want to tell you that I'm glad he's in your life. Even though he's a dog . . . I guess he's not that bad."

I turned to meet her amber eyes and my own began to water. "He's amazing, Auntie. Truly."

She took my face in her cool, tiny stone hands and brushed the tears that began to fall.

"You'll let me plan your freaking wedding, right? With no _qualms_ like your mother?"

I snorted and gave her a wide grin. "Nothing too crazy."

She squealed with delight and kissed my cheek. "Go, have fun! I have things to do!"

As she pushed me out of her closet and bedroom, I found myself wandering down the hall slowly. Butterflies filled my stomach for some odd reason, and I couldn't quite place why . . .


	26. By Fate's Hand

A/N: Hi all! Sorry for the delay, but you know...world order crashing, brewing pandemic...kind of got in the way LOL. This is totally a fluff chapter. I have a lot more coming ;)

* * *

Chapter Twenty-Six – By Fate's Hand

* * *

_when you say you love me_  
_know I love you more_  
_when you say you need me_  
_know I need you more_  
_boy I adore you_

_\- miley cyrus, adore you_

oOoOo

I hummed in content as the frosty wind whipped my hair around, eyes focused on the curve of Jacob's back in front of me. His scent swirling around me, mixing in with the salty winter air, making me feel right at home.

On the hike up to the cliffs, it dawned on me that I _was_ home. No place like La Push had ever made me feel so fiercely protective and grounded. I would fight for my home, my friends, my family and _my life_.

The Volturi would not take anything from me.

I could see Jacob's chest rise and fall, in even breaths as he took in the vast horizon of crashing waves. I found him the most beautiful like this, when he seemed to be completely entranced with his land.

We had a nice dinner at a local diner in Forks, nothing overly fancy. He tried to convince me we could go to Port Angeles but I insisted I wanted to stay close. I wanted simple tonight. Just him and I, at our favorite place.

Jacob's head turned over his wide shoulder, his face lit up in a handsome smile when he saw I was already staring at him.

"Watching me?" He murmured as he reached his hand out to me.

I put mine in his, letting him guide me to the edge next to him, leaning into his warm side.

"How could I not?" I told him with a content sigh as his arms wrapped me up tightly. I nuzzled against him as he rested his chin on the top of my head.

I listened to his heart, beating furiously against my head. Jacob's heart was always strong, but never this fast.

"Are you okay, my Jacob?" I questioned with a jutted lip, lifting my eyes to meet his above.

They were darker than usual, but he smiled brightly at me. "So okay."

"Don't lie." I pouted as I turned in his arms, allowing my hands access to his face. I rested them on each cheek, pulling him down to meet my lips in a soft kiss.

His mouth twitched against mine, forcing us both to grin like idiots. "I promise, Ness. I'm more than okay. Sometimes you just make me nervous."

My eyes furrowed as I he pulled away to look down at me seriously.

"I make you _nervous_?" I questioned, dumbfounded that Jacob even had the capacity to be nervous. He was always so collected and easy going.

He chuckled and brushed a hot thumb over my lips. "All the time. It's a good nervous, though. When you look at me first thing in the morning, or how hard you laugh at Billy's jokes. It builds up in the pit of my stomach and makes me want to shout into the sky how much I love you. You do the smallest things, and to anyone else I'm sure they wouldn't notice . . . but I can't help it. I see everything. I don't want to miss a second. So, it makes me nervous."

I smiled brilliantly up at him, crashing my lips back against his as I leaned on the tips of my toes to meet him. His hands sprawled over my skin, moving all around as our lips tangled against one another, softly at first, then quick and desperate. His tongue teased my bottom lip, nibbling and suckling to gain access, access I granted easily. It was as if our minds were connected, each action was met with a complimenting one from the other. I lifted my hips slightly, and Jacob grasped my underside to hoist me up and wrap me around his midsection to give me better access to his mouth. My skirt made it a bit difficult, but Jacob made do by pushing it up over my knees.

I pulled away, breathlessly, and gave him a lusty grin. "Jake!"

He grinned back, and nipped my neck before placing a soft kiss there, bringing his forehead against mine.

"That's my name." He teased, nuzzling my nose with his.

My eyes rolled, but I laughed anyways. Jake could be a goof when he wanted to be, despite the girls insisting he was always 'business'.

"I love you, Jacob Black." I told him confidently, kissing each cheek and hopping down from his grasp with ease. "Even when you tease me."

I watched intently as he licked his plump lips, my eyes trailing down to his hand that was fishing around in his front pocket. My eyebrows furrowed, then shot straight up when I saw he began to kneel down in front of me.

My jaw dropped, momentarily, before snapping shut and allowing my mouth to spread in a beaming smile. I reached out to him, letting him grab both hands with the one that wasn't still in his pocket.

"Jake . . ."

He cleared his throat, and held a little wooden box out in front of me with his other hand. I had no words. _This_ is why he was nervous.

"I've been waiting for the right time to do this, Renesmee." He started, causing me to smile wider when he used my full name.

"I always wanted it to be this grand, unforgettable gesture. I kept going over and over in my mind on how to make it perfect, before I realized that no matter what I did . . . what I said . . . it would be perfect. Because I would be asking you. I had been lost for so long before you, baby. I had found myself, and found ways to be happy . . . but then I saw you and suddenly I found purpose. I found devotion. I found love. I love you, with every beat of my heart, every breath I take, every mile I walk. You are my light, my lifeline, my other half and my true soul mate. It didn't take long for us to be swept up in each others tsunami's, but it's our story and I wouldn't change a thing. I promise to love you with everything in me, and to always put you first. So . . . Renesmee, Nessie; will you be my wife?"

The tears were streaming down my face in steady currents. They were happy tears, of course, but I couldn't stop them from falling. I nodded furiously when Jacob opened the little wooden box, revealing a rose gold band decorated with six small leaves made of tiny diamonds, surrounding a round, bright diamond. It was simple, beautiful and utterly timeless.

"Yes, my Jacob!" I exclaimed in an excited whisper as he grinned back and wasted no time in sliding the ring on. "A million times yes!"

I threw myself into his arms, my chest erupting in euphoric laughter as he kissed me all over my face and neck.

I had been so wrapped up lately in the idea of living forever and the daunting shortcomings that came with never aging, that I failed to put one very important aspect on the table. Forever wasn't so scary if you were with the love of your life. It was as if every fear I subjected myself to, disappeared the moment he slipped that ring on. It was clairvoyance in the shape of a beautiful diamond ring.

"I love you, Nessie. You just made me the happiest guy on the planet." He told me seriously as he planted another kiss under my jaw. I pulled his face up so I could kiss him deeply, eyeing the sparkling ring that decorated my left hand. Butterflies exploded within me the moment our lips crashed against each other.

"I . . . love . . . you . . . Jacob." I told him between hasty kisses. We giggled and kissed, savoring every last second of this moment together.

Jacob had me straddled over his knee, hands firmly placed on the small of my back as our kissing grew fervent. I pulled away to catch my breath, noticing his chest was heaving with just as much intensity as mine.

"I'm going to be your wife." I announced, almost needing to confirm it out loud to believe it. I pulled my hand down from his neck to inspect the dainty jewelry on my finger, waggling it around to see it from different angels.

He grasped my hand and brought it to his mouth, placing a short kiss on the top of my knuckles and another on the ring. "My wife." He repeated, his voice sounding far off and dreamy.

"It's beautiful, Jacob." I told him earnestly.

He smiled and eyed the ring with a glint in his eyes. "It was moms."

My eyebrows raised high. "Really?"

He nodded, rubbing his thumb over my fingers gently. "The original diamond, yeah. I added the smaller stones. I wanted it to be sort of a dedication; to the years I spent without you. Six diamonds for six years, and the biggest one being the seventh year. The year I found you."

My eyes welled up, my sight of Jacob growing blurry from the salty tears brimming at my eyes.

"Oh, Jacob. That's . . . it's so perfect."

He smiled and his dark eyes lifted to meet mine. "You think so? S'not corny?"

I nodded, and kissed him softly. "No, my Jacob. It's perfect."

In one swift motion, he lifted me off the ground as he stood. I squealed, causing him to grin devilishly at me. "Come on, baby. We have a party waiting for us."

My eyes widened as I laughed whimsically when he hoisted me over his shoulder.

"Jacob Black!" I shrieked with laughter, which was received by a firm but playful swat on my backside.

"Yes, future Mrs. Jacob Black?" He questioned with a deep chuckle, tickling my sides as he jogged down the trail leading to the beach. I could smell the bonfire and hear the voices of our friends and family; surprising me as to how I didn't take notice before.

I knew why, of course. When I was with Jacob, looking into his eyes so deeply I felt as if I was swimming in his onyx pools, the rest of the world fell away.

"Oh, come on Jake! Put your poor _fiancé_ down!" Emily chided from down the beach, which caused Jacob to chuckle. He dropped me down, cradling me in his arms bridal style. A fitting entrance. We were received by hoots and hollers from his pack brothers, causing me to blush wildly at the attention.

Jacob grinned, his smile purer and more brilliant than I ever had seen before. My face matched of course, despite the blush.

"Let's see a smooch!" Embry hooted from his spot next to the wild fire.

Jacob chuckled and swiftly planted me on my feet. Our eyes met briefly, just enough time to say _I love you_ with our gazes before our lips came together in sweet embrace. Cheers and hoots erupted, causing us to break away in laughs. My human friends rushed over to me, all bundled up in winter apparel. My heart warmed knowing they were braving the winter chill to celebrate with Jacob and I. There were several smaller fires surrounding the largest one, though. This created a hub of warmth for all of us, even if the pack stood around casually in jeans and t shirts. I was surprised they were even dressed in that many layers; most of them went shirtless everyday, despite the weather.

"Let me see, let me see!" Rachel squealed, grabbing my hand and bringing it up to her face to closely inspect it. "Oh! It's gorgeous! Great job, baby brother."

Kim butted in between Emily and Rachel, bringing her head close to peer at the ring as well. "Wowie!" She gleefully cheered and grinned up at me. "I love it."

I nodded, returning my own smile. "It's beautiful. Jacob told me there's seven stones for the seven years it took to find me." I gushed shamelessly. "He's so romantic."

I could see Jacob blush crimson from the corner of my eye, and felt a squeeze on my backside. I giggled and fidgeted, just before he guided me over to Billy and Sue.

"Son, I hear congratulations are in order." Billy happily exulted, taking Jacobs outstretched hand in a solid grasp. "Renesmee, you have carved a place in my heart and I'm happy to welcome you into our family."

I touched Billy's cheek tenderly, a single tear slips from my eyes as ours lock. "Thank you, Billy. Truly. Thank you to everyone, for embracing me into your tight knit community." I said the end a bit louder, turning to eye the pack and all of the imprints of age.

I felt a squeeze on my shoulder, looking up to see Seth beaming down on me. Jacob released me into the arms of his beta, who picked me up in a Seth sized wolf hug before dropping me down and gave me a long noogie on the head.

I swatted his hands away and pointed a finger menacingly. "What did I say about the hair!" I warned with a teasing glint in my eyes.

He let out a deep belly laugh, "This is like, my triumph too! I've been here since day one; I MADE YOU TWO."

Jacob flicked Seth's ear, which prompted Seth to fake punch at Jacob. "Yeah, sure, sure."

Sue stood behind Billy, eying me intently but when she noticed my glance gave me a warm smile. Seth insisted she had a good place in her heart for me, but no matter how much I tried to get my grandfathers wife to warm up to me past simple friendliness, it was met with abrupt awkward tension.

"Congratulation's, Jacob and Renesmee. This is a unity not only for you two, but the tribe as well."

Jacob's hold on me tightened, and I watched the strain in his eyes as he gave her a tight smile.

Before Jacob could reply past a nod, hot hands pulled me away from Jacob and hoisted me in the air. "I got the Alpha's wife!" Embry chimed with snickers, running with me over his shoulder with Brady and Collin trailed after

I shrieked and pounded his back, shooting a glance up to Jacob mid laughter. His mouth was dropped open in shock.

"Jake!" I playfully yelled in his direction, causing him to break out in a smile and take off after us.

Embry tossed me, and I landed with ease. "Bet you're too human to catch up to us!" Embry snickered and shoved Jacob with his shoulder.

Jacob shot me a glance, an eyebrow raised but let out a deep laugh despite his confusion.

The evening was full of playful banter, and endless amounts of laughter. I had a smile plastered on my face all night, my cheeks even began to ache. It was a good ache. A happy ache.

Jacob squeezed my waist, placing a single kiss on the top of my head before leaving me to go talk with Sam and Sue.

We happily chatted, all of us giddy and beaming with excitement. Kim had insisted she help me plan, I informed her that my family were actually sticking around for a bit, and I knew without a doubt they'd want to help wedding plan as well. Mostly my crazy pixie aunt. This was met surprisingly well from them, and no one looked uncomfortable to my relief.

I felt the tug in my chest, and my eyes snapped up to meet Jacobs across the fire. He gave me a soft smile, and mouthed 'I love you'.

I bit my lip, but couldn't fight the smile, and mouthed 'I love you, too' back.

As Kim and Rachel bickered about bridesmaid dresses, I honed in on the conversation Jacob was having. I knew it was rude, and probably wouldn't go unnoticed by Jacob that I was listening, but curiously beseeched me.

"This changes the basis of the treaty, and you know it." Jacob said, his voice tremoring.

Sam grunted, in agreement with Jacob. I could see in my peripherals their body language was tense. "This is a binding between two families, Sue. Despite what they are."

My eyebrows furrowed as I stared off into the fire, zoning out harder to get a better listen.

"Cold ones, on our land?"

"For the wedding . . ." Jacob trailed off.

"The entire tribe will be in attendance, Jacob. This will not go unnoticed." Sam warned.

"That's the point. I want them to know they do not have to be afraid of the Cullen's. Their morals-"

"Morals?" Sue repeated, her voice raising an octave. "Vampire's do not have morals."

I couldn't help it, my head snapped in their direction, my eyes narrowing at the three. Jacob saw, since he was facing me directly. I knew he had been watching me.

"Renesmee is half, and she's going to be my wife. A chief's wife. Do not disrespect her again, Sue. If you would take the time to see who she is, you'd know how kind hearted her nature is and that she embodies the spirit of every imprint with natural grace. She takes this seriously. Our culture is just as important to her as it is to me. You're the only council member who won't agree to this."

My heart warned at Jacobs proclamation; he was fiercely protective. My stomach also clenched at his dominance, I'd definitely have to bring that up later . . .

Sue sighed, long and drawn out. "We will meet with the Cullen's to discuss your new treaty, Jacob."

Jacob had only spoke of the treaty a few times previously, but always got irritated over talking about the specifics of what he called 'pack politics'. I knew Grandpa made the treaty with Jacob's great grandfather, and they weren't allowed on La Push, simply because they were vampires. I understood the basis of it. Vampire's and werewolves don't mix.

Unless you're a half-vampire and the imprint of an alpha werewolf.

_Then they mix._

So, now, a new treaty needed to be made because technically, our marriage and my entire existence null and voided the old treaty.

I had zoned out in thought, so badly I hadn't realized Jacob was walking up to me.

"You ready to go home, honey? It's been a long day."

I looked around and noticed many of the pack members had left, and only a few imprinted pairs remained, nuzzled up in front of the fires.

I nodded, hugging the girl's goodbye before letting Jacob lead me away from the beach back towards Billy's house.

"Should we call my parents?" I asked suddenly, Jacob's conversation with Sam and Sue sparking my need for approval from my vampire family.

"If you want, honey. Or we can go over first thing tomorrow." He suggested, his arm coming to wrap around my shoulder, his hand hung down against my forearm. My skin rippled in goosebumps as he brushed his fingers against my arm every few steps.

I sighed, and rested against him as we walked. "Jacob, do you ever wonder why you imprinted on me?"

I briefly looked up at him, to see his expression to be exactly what I picture; horrified.

"No, never."

I smiled at his devotion.

"I do." I offered lightly. "Deeper than surface level why. More like soul level why."

Jacob nodded slowly, trying to wrap his head around what I was saying.

"I was thinking, it's interesting how your great grandfather had made a treaty with Grandpa and daddy 70 years ago and now you and I are getting married. Descendants of that original divide."

Jacob stopped walking and faced me, his face engrossed in my deductions.

"What if this is why. To bring everyone together, despite who or what we all are. To look past it for love. Because love conquers all. I think that's why you imprinted on me. We needed each other to learn about not only ourselves, but our history and unify it."

Jacob's mouth fell open in shock. "Nessie . . . how long have you been thinking about this?"

I shrugged. "Since you told me. It makes no biological sense, since the elder's originally told most of you this is purely an evolutionary pairing. We are proof it goes past that. Unless your spirit ancestors wanted to create a super hybrid, but I doubt they're cunning like that." I offered with a small smile, the joke making Jacob chuckle.

"You really are just so extraordinary; you know that right?" He mused, pulling my body hard against his.

I smirked against his lips and pulled on his shirt to bring him closer. "You flatter me too often."

He nibbled my bottom lip before pulling it between his teeth. "Not enough."

"Can we go see the house?"

Jacob hummed in approval as he dragged his nose across my cheek and squeezed me tightly against his fiery body. "I suppose . . . it's still pretty gutted though."

I smiled flirtatiously, despite his warning. "It doesn't need to be finished for what I want to do to you."

A low growl rumbled within his chest, right against me. I smiled triumphantly.

"You are trouble, Mrs. Black." He chuckled and bent down to sweep me into his arms.

My heart skipped at what he said, but I still had a teasing fire within me. "Future." I corrected. "_Future_ Mrs. Black."

I tickled his sides, trying to get him to release his hold on me but it only tightened it.

"Won't stop me from calling you that." He said with a booming laugh as he took off in a jog with me still in his arms.


	27. The First Encounter

**A/N:** So…I started another story. A crossover. I'm sitting here, laughing, thinking about how many projects I have! I can't help it! My brain just thinks up all these crazy ideas. It's called Bloodlust, a TVD and Twilight crossover. LOL. Judge me later. (I really just wanted to write dialogue with Damon, sue me.) Check it out if you want to see another version of Nessie who isn't the goody two shoes we all probably assume she would be.

Also, sorry this took so long. Review and let me know what you think is coming next. ;)

* * *

Chapter Twenty-Seven – The First Encounter

* * *

_I came to find, my fire was fate with you  
heartache would stay with you  
fly great escapes with you_

_\- kehlani, honey_

oOoOo

"Mmm." I mumbled incoherently, snuggling deeper into the heated blankets. I heard Jacob chuckle besides me, and gave him a sleepy smile. His deep brown eyes were not bleary-eyed, as mine were. No, he was wide awake and staring right at me.

"Good morning, my Jacob." I greeted with a raspy voice, scooting closer so I could kiss him. He hummed in content the moment our lips met.

"Good morning, my Nessie." He replied, his face spread into a wide grin before attacking my face in quick kisses. I squealed delightedly, and tried to catch his fervent lips with my own.

I had captured them, easily. Jacob had wanted to kiss me, just as badly as I had wanted to kiss him. His tongue trailed my bottom lip, tantalizingly slow, begging for permission to enter. My mouth cracked a smile, but couldn't hold out when his body was so hot against mine, and his mouth tasted _this _good. Even first thing in the morning, he tasted good.

I moaned into his mouth when his hand trailed down my side, sliding down my bare thigh, just before dipping underneath the oversized shirt of his I wore. His fingers sprawled over my hip, then moved to cup my backside. This time he was moaning into _my_ mouth.

"So _fucking_ beautiful." He pulled back to peek at the hand cupping my backside, then gave me a rough squeeze with a wide grin.

My body had its own agenda as I ground against his leg, the leg I was straddling, whimpering when he squeezed my flesh again.

His mouth went to work on my neck, suckling and kissing. He was giving in to his wolf side, that much I could tell. His mouth held so much desire, the God of passion, Eros, would have been jealous.

"How . . . long . . ." I paused trying to remember what I was going to ask, just as his hand dipped between my thighs to tease me. I gasped, and bit into his shoulder. "have you been awake?" I finished quickly, trying to force the words out before my ability to form sentences was rendered useless.

"Awhile." He admitted, pausing his attack on my skin to glance up at me with hazy, dark eyes.

I took his face in my hands, rubbing my thumbs repeatedly over his cheek bones. I looked over inch of him, every thread of hair in his eyebrows, to the curve of his cupids bow on his tanned lips, how his skin glistened against the light. My Jacob was beautiful.

"You're so handsome, Jake. Handsome, beautiful, _sexy_. . .You're everything and you're mine. I can't believe it." I admitted, kissing him gently. I wanted to savor this moment. Every moment, truthfully.

Jacob had asked me to marry him last night, and this morning I was waking up _his fiancé_. The joy was indescribable . . . nothing - not even the Volturi . . . Emilian . . . nothing could take away the happiness I was feeling. For now.

He smirked against my lips, pulled me on top of his hot body, and snaked his strong arms tightly around my waist. I giggled and tried to squirm away, but was unsuccessful. Not that I actually wanted to be anywhere else, besides right next to him.

"You better believe it, baby."

The corner of my lip quirked upwards, I couldn't believe how corny he could be. But, he was mine. I sighed, falling against his chest happily. His hands began rubbing my exposed shoulders, making me think about the night before my birthday. We were just two people, drawn to each other, with no worry other than if the other felt the same. Now, it was as if the weight of our world was on each shoulder.

"Jacob?"

His movements paused, and I knew he could sense I was deep in thought. "Yeah, Ness?"

"Are you scared?"

His body stiffened for a fraction of a second, before he laxed back against me, pulling me tighter down on top of him. "I'm only scared of losing you."

I pursed my lips, and fluttered my eyes to blink away the sting of tears prodding behind my eyelids.

"Me too."

He snuggled me even tighter, if possible, resting his chin against my forehead. "I promise to keep you safe, Nessie. I'm with you, forever."

I was torn, between wanting to run and wanting to stand our ground. I knew we couldn't outrun the Volturi. There was no way. As I continued to struggled with the concept of fighting, I had to relished the idea I _had_ the opportunity to take a stance against the ancient Volturi and their corrupt rule. It was the thought of Jacob being alone, if I didn't survive, was what hurt the most.

No matter how much I agonized; this war was inevitable.

Yesterday had taken a lot out of me. I pushed myself to my limits, and my emotions were all over the place. it was a good day, all in all, but the idea of With the exception of tonight and tomorrow, we would be training non stop.

I sat up quickly, my eyes flashing open with thought of wedding planning. Alice.

"Oh, God." I groaned, and balled my fists on top of Jacobs broad chest. He looked up at me, expectantly, his mouth opened ever so slightly in confusion.

"Wedding planning."

Jacob beamed, his smile reaching the corners of his eyes. "Guess we have to break the news to mommy and daddy vamp."

I tried to tickle his sides, but swiftly was pinned under him. "Jake!"

He waggled his eyebrows, and shrugged before hopping out of the bed. "If we stay in bed a minute longer, I'm _going_ to touch you."

Mischief flashed across my features, quirking a brow I offered a flirty invitation, "Is that a threat or a promise?"

He groaned and backed away with his hands in the air. "You are trouble, and I gotta keep my hands clean."

I pouted, crossing my arms sassily before sticking my tongue out at him. "No fair."

I watched as he ducked out of the room, and down the hall. I heard the shower cut on and huffed before flopping back onto the bed. The thought of Jacob in the shower right now was downright a tease. Water, sliding down his sculpted muscles . . . sinewy . . . copper . . . muscles . . .

A rapid knocking at the front door brought me out of my daydreaming, and also startled the hell out of me. So much so, I flew out of the bed and onto the floor with a yelp.

_Well, hello clumsiness, my old friend._

The shower cut off, and Jacob came thundering down the hallway. He slid across the wooden floor, and the first and only thing I noticed was his naked, dripping body. I glanced at him, upside down from my spot on the floor, and flashed him my best Cullen smile.

"Hi."

He looked at me, then the bed, and to the front door before staring right back at me.

"The door spooked you?" He asked suspiciously with a quirked eyebrow, a smile danced across his face.

I threw my legs out, leveraging myself to jump off the floor. My eyes trailed down his delicious . . . nope. Stop. Or else you'll be even more sexually frustrated than you already are.

"Helllllllooooo? I hear you!" Seth called, sliding open Jacob's bedroom window to pop his head in.

"Hey Nessie, where's – oh. Uh, Jake. Can you get dressed?"

My face turned beet red as I glanced down at my own lack of clothing, grabbing a pillow to cover my bare legs, and then a shoe to throw at the nosey werewolf. "Seth!"

His eyes widened in surprise, ducking so the shoe just skimmed past him and out the window. Seth's expression could only be described as sheepish as he ducked out of the window, leaving both Jacob and I red faced and flustered.

"Can you go see what that idiot wants, and please . . . don't fall this time." He teased as he sauntered down the hall. The image of his naked backside was definitely burned into my mind for the remainder of the day . . . and hiding that around my father was going to be _hard_ . . . no pun intended.

I pulled on the nearest pair of sweatpants, and scurried down the hall, thankful Billy was still asleep.

I swung the door open with a scowl, and glared up at the grinning wolf in front of me.

He only smiled wider when he grabbed me to pick me up in a hug. "Merry Christmas eve, eve, ya filthy animal!"

I groaned, smacking his arms to get him to let up and set me back down. "That's not a thing, and speak for yourself!"

His laughter boomed through the small entryway, setting me down and pat me on the head. "Where's our big bad Alpha?"

Rolling my eyes, I gestured down the hall with a nod. "As if you don't already know."

He sauntered into the living room to settle himself down on the couch. "Still polite to ask."

I grumbled, shuffling back to Jacob's small room to grab a towel, and headed towards the shower. I'm sure he would be done any minute . . . doesn't hurt to check. I went to knock, and the door flew open, sending me staggering forward. Jacob stood there, a towel draped across his waist and another in his hand as he dried his hair roughly with the plush fabric. He wore a shit-eating grin at my stumble.

"Quite the klutz today." He noted, kissing my cheek and squeezing past me through the small threshold.

I scoffed, and shot him a teasing glare over my shoulder. "That's two strikes, Black."

"Sure, sure!" He called back, walking away towards the living room.

I ducked into the shower, cutting on the water as hot as it would reach. Stripping, I stepped under the spray and sighed as the heat was lukewarm compared to my high temperature. I slumped my head against the wall, and let my thoughts drift over to the Volturi again. Our first encounter rang clear in my mind, as if it happened yesterday.

_I clutched to my parent's hands, tears welling up but I refused to let them spill. I hadn't a clue what this visit would do. Nahuel and Huilen trailed behind, only recognizable from the distinction of his rapid heartbeat fluttering at the same pace as mine, only his was larger and louder. _

_I kept my breathing even, and my mind open. The dark masonry halls, lit only by dim candles. I had taken notice of the Italian vows, scripted in the trim every few feet. The vows were our laws. It was as if they were taunting me._

_Daddy's hand squeezed mine, and I glanced up to see his butterscotch eyes peering down at me. He offered a tight pressed smile, then looked back to the man leading us through the ancient tunnels. He turned, and gestured us into a compact elevator. I felt myself be lifted up by the armpits, slinging my legs over daddy's hips so he could carry me. I held on tight, and rested my head against his shoulder and my hand on his cheek._

_I'm scared._

"_Don't be, Renesmee." He replied softly, kissing my forehead for what felt like the longest time._

_I don't want to die, daddy._

_His grip on me tightened as he shook his head. "You won't."_

_The elevator dinged, and it was like it was the bell of a sentencing. A death sentencing._

"Nessie?" Jacob's voice called out to me from the hall, "You okay?"

I jumped, opening my eyes in a flash. "Coming!" I yelled, and hurried along running a bar of soap over my body and face, forgoing my usual routine and cutting the water in a flash.

My heart was nearly beating out of my chest as the memory continued to force itself into my thoughts. I shook my head, as well as the thoughts, and wrapped myself in a towel.

I knew Jacob was on the other side of the door, waiting, and knew he would obviously try to question me. When I opened the door wide, my assumptions proved to be correct. His hand gripped the trim of the doorway above his head and his other was shoved into the front pocket of his jeans as his face held a puzzled expression

"You okay?" He questioned slowly, eying me up and down.

I swallowed and nodded, not bothering to look him in the eye as I tried to squeeze by him. Hard to do when you have a werewolf fiancé.

He grabbed my wrist, which only forced me to meet his smoldering gaze.

"I'm fine, Jacob." I insisted, lying straight through my teeth.

I felt guilty for not telling him I was actually _not_ fine, but today was a good day, and the last thing I would do was bring up my memories. Then there was the fear, that they were foreshadowing something I wasn't yet too sure of.

I had dressed quickly, only giving my hair a once over with the brush. They were discussing the new treaty today, as well as assembling a few more council members, and I didn't want to be the reason we were late.

I opened the passenger door, and smiled brightly at a cheerful Billy.

"Good morning, Nessie."

"Took you long enough." Seth grumbled, which earned a glare from Jacob.

I shot Seth a look, but plastered the smile back on my face for Billy.

"Morning, Billy. Hope we aren't late for the meeting?"

He shook his head, and Jacob scoffed. He wasn't too fond that I wanted to be included.

"I don't see why I shouldn't be involved. The whole pack will be there, the council, my family…seriously? Except me?" I muttered as I buckled my seatbelt. "No one else minds."

Jacob scrubbed his face, and rested his elbow on the door as he began to pull away from his father's house. He let out a low growl, and glared at me

My eyes widened as I slouched back. "Are you trying to intimidate me, Jacob Black?"

Jacob scoffed, and turned his head back to the road for a moment, before flashing his onyx eyes wide. "I just don't think it's a good idea, Renesmee. What if one of the wolves-"

"They would never hurt me!" I argued, crossing my arms stubbornly. "Plus, Charlie will be there, as well as Rachel and Emily. They wouldn't do anything, and you know it."

He had both hands on the steering wheel now, gripping it so tight it creaked under his knuckles. "Why do want to come so bad?"

"This treaty involves me, Jacob. This treaty exists because I exist, because I'm about to be the Chief's wife, and I'm the first vampire allowed on this land." I gestured out the window to the passing reservation. "Why don't _you_ want me to come?"

He was silent for a moment, then let out a long, dejected sigh. "I don't want you to get upset if some of the terms get denied."

"What could be wrong with anything proposed?" I retaliated, turning my head to examine his face.

"Your family being allowed on our land."

"But, our wedding…"

"I know, mama. See? You're already getting upset." He sighed, reaching over to grasp my hand. "This is what I was trying to avoid."

Seth snorted, which elicited a glare from both Jacob and I.

"Hey man, you guys have my vote."

I rubbed my forehead for a moment, in silent thought, trying to figure out exactly how to tell Seth that his mom hated me.

"Son, you cannot shield your imprint from our world. She is just as much theirs, as she is yours. It's important for her presence to be there, so the council can look her in the eyes and see she is no threat. Renesmee is a gentle, and giving soul. They all see that."

"Sue isn't fond of it." Jacob's tone was hushed, but his comment didn't go unnoticed.

"Do you think she'd fight us on this?" I turned to look at both Billy and Seth over the seat, my eyes flickering back and forth the two men. Seth's face softened when he noticed my somber expression.

"Mom's just really old school, she grew up with the legends that all vampires are soulless, bloodsucking killers."

I groaned as I thumped my head against the seat. "That gives me all the confidence in the world, Seth."

"Hey," I looked at him through the rearview. "she came to your birthday and was surrounded by vampires and didn't seem phased." He offered with a shrug.

I blew out my cheeks as we pulled up to Grandpa Charlie's, unsure if the wave of anxiety would pass or stick around. I figured it would stick, unfortunately. I could smell my vampire family already, as well as a few of the older wolves.

I knocked once, and let myself pray to a God I wasn't even sure existed, let alone listened to immortal creatures, that this meeting would go over well.


	28. Something Comforting

**A/N:** I have so much motivation to finish out these stories I have, because I officially have fallen in love with this Seth/OC plot I've cooked up while being quarantined.

If you are readers of my other fics; expect **The Truth In Her Eyes** to be a short, ten chapter story. **Bloodlust** will be a twelve chapter story, following with **Coming Home** to be around twenty chapters, and this fic, is coming to its bittersweet ending in the next tenish chapters. I've had a lot of fun writing these, and it's definitely pushed me to be so much more creative than I have in a long time. My writing is evolving, and I'm working hard to make my words come alive. Please review!

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Chapter Twenty-Eight – Something Comforting

_and getting made you want more_  
_and hoping made you hurt more_  
_someone tell me_  
_something comforting_

_\- porter robinson, something comforting_

oOoOo

I rested my hands on Nessie's delicate shoulders, giving her a comforting squeeze. I knew how anxious she was, I felt it rolling off her in waves. It was important to me to be here for her first, before addressing the room.

The atmosphere was tense, unsurprisingly. It was the first time the new council sat together, as well as Carlisle, Edward and Bella. Bella's presence was pretty unnecessary, but I think she only came to put Charlie at ease. Who, right now, quite frankly looked like he was about to glock someone.

I didn't blame him. Being one of the six humans in a room of supernatural beings, four of which you were blissfully unaware what kind of supernatural, I'd have my hand rested on my gun too.

Sue called for an equal distribution of voices amongst the original families and the first wolves of this generation to be involved in the council, so she suggested Quil to stand along side Old Quil, and involve Takola Fuller, Brady's father, as well as Jared and Paul.

It was the largest council we had ever had in the tribe's history, made up of eight people, including myself.

Takola was recently let in on what his son had been up to the last seven years, and shockingly he wasn't stunned. The most interesting part, was that he was actually pretty open about the Cullen's and their lifestyle. It might have been because he worked with Carlisle at the hospital before they moved, but one thing for sure, I wasn't complaining to have someone else on Nessie's side.

I met the eyes of Bella, who donned brown contacts whenever she was around Charlie, something I regarded highly of her for doing. She was selfless in that way, a trait my beautiful bride to be inherited. I had come a long way since Bella first came to Forks, and it was only then in that moment that I began to piece it all together. Every moment, was shaping me, and leading me to this spot. Standing here, tall and proud before men and women of my tribe and the soon to be extended family I would share with Nessie.

Nessie, who I only had, thanks to Edward Cullen, a man I once hated with every ounce I had within me. I looked at him then, casually, knowing he was reading my every thought, and for once…I was grateful. Grateful that Edward was always one step ahead, grateful he had been a gracious and forgiving man, grateful he had brought me my soul mate.

I had phased as a arrogant, seventeen-year-old who was explosive and rude. And it was only because of the Cullen's…Bella…that I was able to become this man. A man my father was proud of. A man worthy of Renesmee's love. A man worthy of the title Alpha and Chief Jacob Black.

I would no longer feel any shred of self depreciation, masochism…no. Because I envied even myself, for who I was and what I was. I was Jacob Black, the rightful Alpha and Chief to the Quileute people of La Push.

I noticed Edward slyly smile, and lowered his head to hide the expression from an on looking Bella.

"So," I began with a cleared throat, feeling the power of Alpha slip past my teeth. Nessie froze under me, which only made me feel more authoritative. I had this effect of her, and only I. "first of all, I want to start off by thanking Sam for stepping up the last seven years and taking on being Alpha. You have shaped the young men in our pack to be excellent warriors and men."

There were nods and a few words spoken in Quileute, which I noticed Nessie smiled at.

"Thank you, Jacob." Sam said with a bowed head as he crossed his arms.

I inhaled, and with the exhale any shred of nerve dissipated.

I was Alpha now, and to be viewed as a leader amongst the pack was easy for me, but to be respected by the tribe and the council as Chief was another. I had abandoned my tribe for two years, and refused to step up as Alpha for seven. Those kinds of things don't get forgotten easily. But, I would prove to them. I would be the man they needed.

"Second, I want to welcome Takola for graciously accepting his new role. You have taken this all in great stride."

He nodded his head and offered me a smile, which I returned.

_Okay, good start Jacob. No ones killing each other yet._

"Third, thank you to Charlie for allowing us to use his home as a neutral ground for us to discuss the new treaty and come to a peaceful agreement. We're all aware why we're here?"

Charlie cleared his throat, and blinked a few times. I glanced over to Edward and eyed his human father-in-law who looked ready to combust.

_Should we have him step out?_

Edward silently nodded and looked to Bella, who was already one step ahead.

"Dad, uh, do you think you still have all those pictures of me as a baby?"

Charlie's eyes slanted into annoyed slits as he stared me down and twitched his moustache around. "Sure do, Bells."

"You think we could go find them?"

He grunted, and eyed the room, before gruffly standing and storming towards the basement, muttering 'need to know' under his breath. Bella looked over at me sheepishly with her brown contact clad eyes and flitted out of the living room after her father.

I cleared my throat yet again, and glanced down at my beautiful fiancée. She touched my hand with a squeeze and smiled graciously at me.

"Alright, so. I guess, first order of business. As grandson of Ephraim Black, I am to be named Chief by a unified vote amongst the council. Please say 'aye' if you vote yes, and 'nay' for no."

"Hell yeah, Chief Jacob!" Quil exclaimed and fisted the air, which elicited a giggle from Nessie who quickly shut it down after a stern glare from Edward was met.

"Aye. Jake's born for this." Jared commended, tossing a wink at me.

"It would be an honor to see you as our Chief, son." Dad said with a slight bow.

The rest of the council stated their agreements, which gave me another surge of confidence. I smirked towards Edward and couldn't help teasing him.

_Hear that Eddie? Your girl gets a Chief._

His eyes narrowed, which told me I was getting under his skin, my favorite pastime.

I nodded my head with a grin, and squeezed my girl's shoulders again. "Going forward, we will have a traditional Quileute ceremony for the tribe to address me as Chief. I want you all to know as Chief Jacob Black, I am first a civil leader for our tribe and will ensure peace and prosperity for the Quileute Nation and all of it's children. I have the right to hereby veto any terms I deem unnecessary or dangerous to the tribe. Please, say 'aye' if you understand this."

A flurry of 'I's were called, along with whooping from my pack brothers.

"I'm sure you all know, Renesmee and I are engaged to be married. This is a first for the Quileute's, per having a strict policy that you may only be born into the tribe, and not married. Of course, things change." I said confidently, stepping away from Nessie to stand in the center of the room.

"As a spirit warrior, I have been given the gift of imprinting on Renesmee. The Quileute magic has brought her to us for reasons higher than us all in this room, and many of the pack understand the bond and devotion that goes into being an imprinted couple. This marriage not only brings the tribe together, with the unity of a Chief and his bride, but also reaches out to uncharted territory in Quileute history. We have been born and bred into spirit warriors, to protect out land and people from Cold Ones. Times have changed, and I believe the spirits and ancestors recognize this when they forged the bond between Renesmee and I. She is our link, to unifying us with the peace the Cullen's bring."

Carlisle smiled kindly at me. "I agree with Chief Jacob Black whole heartedly, as does the rest of my family. We know they have found each other for reasons beyond us."

The elders amongst the council nodded, including Sue.

"I am direct descendent of that original treaty, as is she. A divide was made between our people and the Cullen's, 70 years ago. They came to a peaceful understanding, and I know we can do the same today."

A chorus of agreements were murmured, prompting me to continue.

"For the first term, I'm suggesting a dissolution of that old treaty. Any and all terms of the previous treaty will not be enforced, besides one. Which brings us to the second term." I watched for reactions, and only saw agreement in the eyes of those present.

"The Cullen's will not bite another human. Bella is the last one to be turned at their hands, and that was under her own volition. Any other vampires created will nullify the treaty, and will be destroyed." I stated, eying Edward and Carlisle. They remained calm, which told me they had no issues.

"The third term, Renesmee may go to and from the reservation alone. I have been with her at all times, and when I am not, she is with Billy, or my sister, Rachel, or a pack brother. This has been easy to uphold, but she should feel as if she isn't constantly being watched, and has earned the trust to do so."

Sam cleared his throat and nodded. "I agree with this. We have all come to love and accept Nessie, past the blood she has within her. She's not a threat and brings happiness to my family and others."

I gave him a nod of thanks and continued. "The fourth term, the harsh enforcement of the treaty line is diminished. This means, the Cullen's will be free to travel in and around the peninsula. However, I am suggesting they travel north to hunt, outside of Washington, so patrolling wolves do not get confused or alarmed. We all are aware of a brewing conflict coming, and I think it's important that we solidify that we are allies and not enemies. Do you agree to this?"

"We agree, and thank you for this." Carlisle accepted with a slight bow.

I glanced across the room to look at my Nessie, who sat poised and calm. Her eyes glanced up to meet mine, my lips automatically upturning into a smile at the sight of my beautiful imprint, and soon to be wife.

I knew what I was about to say was going to surprise her, and so I went to her and placed my hand on the nape of her neck soothingly.

"This has been a difficult subject, for many of us present. This is strictly being put on the table due to the inevitability and importance. The Black bloodline is a very strong bloodline, and as Chief and Chieftess, we are expected to uphold the value of family by bringing in the new generation of Quileute. The fifth, and final term is that a child, born to us, would be the first of it's kind, and protected at all costs. His genes, this child will be physical proof of this unity. A child, born of spirit wolf and vampire blood. No harm will ever come to the child, he will be next in line when he phases into a spirit wolf, deeming him Alpha and Chief if and when I step down."

Nessie stiffened beneath me, and I gripped her shoulders tighter with both hands. This was the main reason I hadn't wanted her involved. She didn't know we would be discussing the possibility of our children. I had been so hesitant to even bring up kids around her, let alone mention how our possible future children's genes could effect the tribe. I had no idea what to expect if she was able to get pregnant, would her pregnancy be normal like my sisters, or would it rapidly excel like Bella's? The day she had explained how quickly she grew within Bella, breaking bones and almost killing her in the process…I didn't want to imagine our child doing that to her.

But, the longing was there, despite the fear, for both of us. I saw it in her eyes when she looked at our nephews, I saw it when she held onto Cheveyo and played with him. We didn't have to talk about how much she had grown to love children, or how naturally maternal she was, because I saw it all.

I had thought a lot lately about how Nessie would look with a growing belly, swollen with our child. Naturally progressing, as if she was human with a human pregnancy. She would be beautiful – no, she would be _radiant_. My thoughts drifted to a little boy, who looked just like me, perched on her hip as she danced around with him. He would be laughing, and he would have her eyes.

"A cold one as successor?" Sue gasped, bringing me out of my thoughts. I glanced up to see her eyes flickering between Nessie and I.

I looked around the room, and noticed Takola's eyebrows nearly disappeared into his hairline. The only one who looked calm were my pack brothers and dad. Even Edward and Carlisle were surprised.

"He would not be full, only partial. Our first born will be Chief one day, despite that, there is no denying his blood given right. He will be given the spirit name, Tahki Dasan." I spoke his spirit name, Cold Chief, in Quileute. I stood tall and stared around the room. I wouldn't back down from this.

"A proud day it will be when he is born." Billy spoke loudly, eying the older council members. "My grandson will be the embodiment of this treaty."

"What if we have a daughter?" Nessie shot as a challenge, looking up at me. My eyes widened, and I considered the possibility that we would have a daughter instead of a son. I had only ever imagined, and dreamed, that we would have a son.

I looked at Nessie, glancing over her face, and let myself imagine her now holding a little girl, stunning and intelligent, with her bronzed and copper curls, big chocolate eyes and my tanned skin.

A daughter…

"Then she will be Tahki Meda, our Cold Princess." Billy answered for me. "Leah, our first female warrior, is born of three spirit bloodlines, so I believe our Tahki Meda will be a spirit warrior, as her father is."

The room fell silent.

"And if she does not shift?" Carlisle then asked. "We do not know if her vampire blood will overpower her bloodlines."

"That begs the question if Jacob is considered half human, seeing as he can shift between forms . . ." Edward questioned out loud and pinched his bridge.

"She walks as woman; her blood is wolf. The child will be a spirit warrior. I have seen it in a dream, a white wolf." Old Quil feebly said. "There should be no fear. She will be our sun and moon Chieftess, the pride of our people."

My mouth dropped open at his testament, and even Quil looked a little shocked at his grandfather's outburst.

"You've seen a daughter?" Nessie gasped. I looked down at her to see her covering her mouth with her hands as tears welled into her eyes.

A sense of pride surged within me seeing her so happy at the idea of a baby. A baby girl. _Our baby._

Old Quil adjusted his glasses, "White Wolf." he repeated with a huff.

Nessie smiled brightly, and ran across to old Quil to engulf him in a hug. He chuckled deeply and hugged her back, whispering a Quileute prayer into her ear. "_To me, you...you give it back to me, give it back._"

I felt the wolf rumble with approval deep within me at the thought of Nessie being the mother of my children. Our daughter, the white wolf. I was bubbling with pride and excitement, but took a deep breath to level myself again. The meeting was far from over, despite how badly I wanted to sweet Nessie up in my arms and take her.

"Now, I'm allowing the opportunity for concerns with any of the terms."

Sue stood, and eyed me gravely. "Vampires should not be allowed on sacred Quileute lands. I reject the fourth term."

"I am not saying all vampires, Sue. I'm saying the Cullen's. They are Renesmee's family, your Chieftess." I reminded her sternly.

Carlisle cleared his throat. "If you do not trust us on your land, let us be chaperoned if that will put you at ease. We will not come to La Push for reasons other than to see Renesmee."

Sue's eyes narrowed. "And what if our tribe sees you, and becomes afraid?"

"There is no reason to be, Sue. We do not partake in a volatile lifestyle." Edward reminded her gently. "We have come together with the wolf pack many times before, we are indebted to them for their acceptance of Renesmee, as well as the protection they give her and have given our family in the past."

She nodded, and looked over to me. "Only if they're escorted when they visit."

"That's a fair compromise." I agreed. "Does anyone else have any qualms?"

A shake of heads, and I beamed around the room.

"I will revise the paper treaty, and all present will sign it."

Whoops and barks flurried the room from my pack brothers, and hands were shaken amongst everyone in congradulations.

Nessie stood and threw herself into my arms, which I happily accepted and kissed her all over her face excitedly. She squealed and shimmied out of my grasp to run over to her father and grandfather, chattering excitedly about the wedding and babies and a million other things at light speed. That was when Bella returned, with armfuls of scrapbooks in tow with Charlie, who still looked less than pleased. She winked at me, and deposited the books onto the coffee table with an exaggerated sigh.

"Good grief, dad. You're quite the hoarder."

He continued to mumble as he sat himself down next to Billy.

Emily and Kim had come into the room, attempting to shuffle everyone into the kitchen for food, while Rachel went over to my Nessie, touching her hair and giggling about the boys being bossed around our little girl one day.

I couldn't help but stand back, and feel as if I was having an out of body experience. I had successfully upheld what it meant to be Chief, and the power was overwhelming.

Edward came over to me, and extended his hand. "You have come a long way, Jacob. I had my doubts, ever since that day you showed up on Bella's birthday. But, you truly have evolved. I'm proud to call you my son-in-law."

I raised my eyebrows and shook his hand with force. "Does this mean I can call you dad?" I joked, which resulted in Edward squeezing my hand tighter.

"Absolutely not."

* * *

**A/N:** What did you think? Did I embody Jacob's transition into Chief well, and what did you think about his surprise mention of their children?


	29. Nessie The Bridezilla

**A/N:** Hi. It's me. Thought I was gone for good, eh? No, no. I just got a little sidetracked. I've sort of become entangled in the world of wattpad, and published my own story. BUT, I know I need to finish these projects. I NEED TO. So…here's my attempt. Don't hate me if they suck and they're short. I'm tired and my brain feels like spaghetti after being in the house for over two months. If you want to check out my story on Wattpad, my user is RynWillow. Maybe you'll love it.

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Chapter 29 – Nessie the Bridezilla

* * *

_and we'll go running off tonight_  
_high above, where we won't even need to reach the sky, my love_  
_oh there will be a change in the air, nobody will be anybody else_

_\- tame impala, lucidity_

I stared at my Aunts in exasperation, flickering my eyes between the two clippings of fabric that looked absolutely identical.

Their ocher eyes were determined, each set beckoning me in to choose their swatch.

"They . . . look identical?" I squeaked, clutching the hem of my sweater between sweaty palms. Have they always looked this scary?

"IDENTICAL?!" Alice shrieked, and threw her hands in the air. "No, Renesmee. This is clearly ivory and that is _OBVIOUSLY_ diamond!" My erratic aunt gestured to the strip Rosalie was waving around. She looked more amused than mad, unlike Alice.

"I don't know, Alice! It's not like I actually get a say – you already have seen it all!" I grumbled, crossing my arms with defiance as I sank further into the loveseat.

Alice's expression softened, her demeaner switching from Scary-Wedding-Planning-Aunt-Alice to the doting and soft hearted version of herself she only reserved for myself and Uncle Jazz.

In a flash, she was on her knees in front of me. Her icy grasp held tight around my own hands. My warmth enveloped her cold, keeping our locked fingers a neutral temperature.

"I'm sorry, Renesmee. I'm pushing – aren't I? I'm just so excited. Sometimes you're more like Bella when it comes to these things. And, actually – I haven't seen it all. Just…your dress." She winked and touched my cheek with a tender hand.

My interest peaked as I met her golden gaze, my own eyes widening with delight. "You have?"

"Yes, I have." She confirmed with a dazzling grin.

I raised my eyebrows. "And?"

"You pick diamond."

I chuckled and threw my arms around my crazy aunt, kissing her cheek. "Then why go through all this trouble?"

Her delicate shoulders shrugged beneath my embrace. "It's fun."

A swift knock at the front door broke us apart, but I knew who it was even without looking.

"You can come in, Jake." I called for him, pulling away from my Aunt so I could greet my handsome werewolf after his night away patrolling. It was Christmas eve, and Jacob had promised that after a good nap we would go out for a hunt together. I needed some one on one time with my werewolf.

"You promise the pixie wont rip my head off?" His usually commanding voice actually sounding fearful behind the front door.

"Oh, shut up." Alice muttered, lifting herself off the floor with grace. Rosalie snorted, pulling Alice along to the kitchen. Their oversized wedding book, plethora of magazines and fabric swatches in tow.

The door opened much more timidly than I expected. Jake popped his head through the crack first and eyed the room before spotting me. His 100 watt grin nearly dazzled me to death, and I found myself holding onto the back of the loveseat for support.

"Hey, baby." He said, sauntering into the room with his usual confidence upon seeing me.

I smirked, allowing him to whisk me into his arms for a chaste kiss and a loving embrace. "Hi, Jake. I missed you all night. How was your patrol?"

He groaned, burying his face into the crook of my neck and making me giggle when his hot breath tickled the delicate skin. "It was fine. The new wolves are all morons, I swear. I really hope I wasn't that dumb when I was fifteen."

"You were." Daddy's cool voice broke through at the top of the stairs, momma right behind him as they glided down the stairs.

Jacob lifted his head away from my neck, and probably tossed daddy a narrowed scowl.

"Edward." Momma chastised, but I could hear the teasing in her tone rather than a condescending one.

I looked over my shoulder, my father offering us all his crooked grin without a trace of remorse for his insult.

_You have an eternity of jokes, don't you? _I thought, directing my gaze at him. He only gave me another crooked grin.

"Did your Aunt scar you with their wedding planning tactics?" Momma asked me, wrapping her arms around Dad's side. "Alice is probably taking this more seriously than she did our wedding, and _that_ version of Alice was terrifying."

"Only terrifying because you wanted to wear tennis shoes with your wedding dress." Alice scoffed, walking back into the room with a flurry of papers in her arms. "Besides, this wedding has to go off without a hitch considering it's our first time on La Push, and Renesmee is their freaking _Queen_."

Jacob snorted, which earned a glare from all the women in the room.

"She's not the reservations Queen." He said behind a snicker. "It's not some monarchy."

"No, Jake. It's a hierarchy." Momma said with a laugh. "We all realize how important this is."

It was true. There was an unsurpassable amount of weight to this wedding, and it had me chewing on the inside of my cheek with relentless tension. I knew my dream of a small, intimate wedding on the beach with Jacob and our families wasn't realistic. The entire reservation would want to witness their Chief marry a pale face; a Cullen. How many of them knew the truth, or had their assumptions? Would it be chaotic?

Jacob sensed my tension, placing two reassuring hands on my shoulders and rubbing away any fears that began to bubble inside.

"At the end of the day, I'm marrying my Nessie and that's all that matters. Right, mama?" Jacob asked me, running his lips under my jaw. I could feel his smile and the touch made me giggle.

I glanced up at him over my shoulder, crinkling my nose as I grinned. "Yes, Jake. We trust Alice completely. I'm not going to be a bridezilla. I just want to marry Jacob."

"Don't worry, Renesmee. I promise I won't overdue it. I listened to your demands, and just know it'll be perfect. A dream wedding…that I have _one week_ to plan."

I couldn't fight the blush that rose to my cheeks. Perhaps it was a tad excessive to…_request_…a wedding by New Years. But, I couldn't wait any longer. I told Alice we would just fill out the certificate and call it a day if it would be a problem. That definitely gave her the motivation she needed.

Okay, maybe I _was_ a bridezilla.

Jacobs smoldering hands trailed down my arms, interlacing our fingers as he pulled me against his chest. I knew what he wanted.

"Jacob needs to sleep, call us if anything changes?" I posed it as a question, even though we were already half way out the door.

Dad rolled his eyes, waving us off with his hand and a pinch to his bridge. "Be careful on your hunt. Alice said the Denali's would be getting in tonight, so just make sure you check before you hunt."

I offered a grin just as Jacob shut the door and picked me up. I let out a squeal when he slung me over his shoulder and all but ran to the tree line.

"Jacob!" I shrieked, playfully pounding his back.

His booming laughter echoed around the forest as he set me down. "Sorry, Ness. I just needed to get out of there before you dear father killed me with his glare."

"And, why would he be glaring?"

"Because all I could think about was how good you smell, and the fact that your ass looks _amazing_ in these jeans." He told me unapologetically with a waggle of his eyebrows, reaching behind me to grab my behind. I gasped and fell against him, pressing my lips into a thin line to fight the smile.

"Jacob Black." I chastised, moving my palms up so I could curl my fingers through his hair. "You're getting bold."

He dropped his mouth to my neck, smiling against the skin and tickling me with his teeth as he placed kisses along my collarbone. "You're almost my wife and I'm dying to feel every inch of you. It's getting harder to control myself." His voice dropped several octaves, coming out husky and sexy.

"Why control yourself, then?" I suggested flirtatiously.

He groaned, and I felt him stiffen against my stomach. "I cannot wait to make you eat those words." He said, shaking his head before pulling away from me. "Let's go home before I decide to say fuck it and take you right here."

He didn't wait for my response before backing away and stripping his pants off, exposing a rather excited body part right before shifting into my favorite russet wolf.

After a much needed nap and a late lunch, we were finally on our way towards the Canadian border. I had a craving for elk, and Jacob had a craving for me. I squealed as I ran from him, his wolf form huffing and yapping in excitement as he bound behind me. It was hard to run through several feet of snow, and Jacob was hot on my heels. My legs were burning and my chest felt like it was on fire from the crisp winter air. I caught the scent of an animal I had never smelled before. I slowed to a jog and stopped suddenly. Jacob began to growl behind me, and I watched as his hackles were raised and his wolf ears pressed flush against his skull.

"Jacob, do you smell that?" I asked him quietly, surveying the thick of pine trees surrounding us. The air was eerie and silent, the setting sun hidden by an array of storm clouds that quickly were billowing in all around us. The snow was falling heavier, tufts of white floating all around us. My instincts told me something dangerous was here. Something wild.

Something untamed.

"Jake..." I whimpered, falling back against his large shoulder. His toffee eyes met mine and he huffed, nudging me back to get on top of him. He sensed it too.

Jacob began to growl a low, guttural sound. A menacing warning to whatever was lurking beyond the shadows. The scent was growing more pungent. It was completely animalistic, iron mixed in with it's unique pheromones and I knew that wasn't good.

Jacob began to slowly back away, hackles still raised and teeth barred ready to sink in to whatever was stalking us. The snow crunched in the distance, and one by one trees began to fall to the snow covered earth.

"Jake, we need to go. We need to go right now!" I begged him, clutching his russet fur in fear.

The snow fall turned into a flurry, and a pair of glowing yellow orbs faded in from the shadows. Thats when Jacob let our an ear piercing howl and ran like hell.


	30. The Eyes That Haunt Me

A/N: *nervous laughter*

* * *

Chapter Thirty – The Eyes That Haunt Me

* * *

_it's hiding in the dark,__it's teeth are razor sharp  
__there's no escape for me, it wants my soul, __it wants my heart  
__no one can hear me scream, maybe it's just a dream  
__-skillet, monster_

oOoOo

All that filled my mind was the ear piercing howl Jacob let out and my own sobs of uncertainty. It was a creature from the depths of hell; a Child of the Moon.

I could only imagine the sight of its grotesque paws as it crunched beneath layers of snow and ice, bounding behind us. Jacob's entire body was ridged while he pushed his body faster than I had ever seen him run. He could probably run faster without me.

He growled and his hackles raised; I had projected my thoughts.

"Jacob – hurry!" I pathetically whined as I clutched to him. I had no real intentions of leaving him; not with the scent of the beast only a few feet behind us.

I chose the wrong time to look back; to finally see the creature for what it was. It was a creature, all right. It's head was massive and misshapen, patches of tufted angry fur sprouting around mounds of scarred black flesh. That wasn't the worst part of its appearance.

It's rows, and _rows_, of yellowed canine teeth were.

There have been many times as of late where time felt as if it moved slower than a snail, and many of them were life changing. This moment was one of them.

The flurry of snow froze as Jacob's quick strides tuned out of my hearing. It moved quick; faster than I anticipated. Faster than Jacob could react. A flash of darkness, and all I heard was the _snapping_ of bone and_ rip_ of my own flesh. The creature sank it's teeth right into my left side, barreling me off of Jacob and into a tree. More snapping played out like a haunting melody around us. The ringing within my mind was deafening, and I couldn't differentiate if it was wood or bone that had snapped.

My eyesight rocked; or perhaps it was my body that was being shaken. A whoosh of breath finally escaped my lips. The air was trapped between the creatures jaw's as it took another sinking bite out of my ribcage.

The white flurry fell again, the ringing ceased and it all came back to a forceful acceleration. Time had begun its course again. I tried to process what was happening but all I could feel was _fire_. It was a burning. An unrelenting, unavoidable _burning_. I could almost hear the feeling in my mind, like the sizzle of a coal on water.

I couldn't even scream; all that left my lips was a chattering croak. Air was hard to find; my chest felt like it was exploding and imploding all in one go. I tried to reach a hand to fight back, but all it found was those damned teeth. As soon as it clamped down on my forearm, it released me. I saw a russet blur; then a silver and brown flash close behind.

I couldn't focus on sounds. I was too busy trying to breathe. It wasn't working.

"Ja…" I wheezed out, a single syllable of Jacob's name. It was all too much. _Too hot_.

It was difficult to feel anything besides the heat that bubbled beneath my skin; I knew what it was. I was dying. I had been bitten; it's venom was attacking my blood cells. My platelets were falling; my liver was failing. My lungs surely were punctured; as a gurgling in my throat began to choke me. _Blood_. I was choking on my own blood.

I was fading. I felt it. My life force was leaving me as more blood oozed past my lips. The burning was gone now. Everything was gone. The sounds. My sight. I hoped there was Heaven after all, or at least, I hoped Lucifer was merciful.

As soon as my sight had left and the depth of darkness funneled in, it all came back in a startling jolt.

Gone was the burning and in its placing a tingling current.

"Renesmee, come on kid." A familiar voice faded in. It was hazy and distant; but it was somewhere near.

The currents were stronger now; it was insufferable. I couldn't remain trapped beneath the stinging. I had to get away. My eyes flashed open; quicker than the initial jolt. I drew in the sharpest breath of my life, and the fire returned along with the zapping. Holy hell on fire am I being electrocuted?!

I was able to focus my vision more, and noticed a silhouette with overly fair skin and flaxen hair.

"Enough, enough! She's had enough!" A booming voice commanded. I knew that voice; that was my _Jacob_.

_I'm here, my Jacob._

"Nessie, oh fuck. Nessie – honey. I can hear you. Please, please." His tone was unfamiliar to me; sadness coated every layer of his deep voice.

A wave of fatigue hit me, and the darkness began a slow creep up to my conscious.

"Renesmee, open your eyes. You have to stay awake. Fuck – someone do something!" His desperation broke me.

The voltage was back and I succumbed to it. Another sharp inhale. A ragged exhale.

"This is going to hurt, my darling. For that, I am sorry."

If I had thought the burning of venom as it wrapped it's way around my vessels was unrelenting; it was only a test for the pain that came with the harsh jolt that ran through my extremities.

I was able to then connect the voice to the feeling. Kate.

My eyes really opened this time. Gone was the haze of clouded iris's. The first thing I saw was the bright ivory of snow, followed by the shimmering of a vampire's skin.

I coughed once, then again and again as I choked and spit out my own blood. I had wished someone would smack my back but no assistance came.

"Don't move, baby. It's okay. You're gonna be okay. Holy fuck. You're _alive._"

I blinked lazily, my breathing was uneven and jagged. Most of all, it was excruciating.

"That fucker got you good, Renesmee." A different voice drowned beneath waves that pulsed in my brain.

"Don't worry. We got him, honey. You're safe."

Jacob sounded like he was trying to convince himself of that last part more so than me. I squeezed my eyes shut and groaned an airy moan.

"Hu – rt's." I wheezed, while attempting to satiate the dryness that was overtaking my mouth. My tongue didn't do what my brain wanted and I remained as lifeless as a fish out of water.

"I know, Ness. I know. We'll get you to Carlisle. He can fix this."

I could sense the shift in gravity and had to assume I was off the ground, but my body was in shock and the sense of true feeling was gone. I was thankful for that.

I didn't know if we were walking or running, but the snow was still falling. I could barely focus on anything besides Jacob, and even Jacob wasn't Jacob. He was still a blurry figure. I wished I could breathe in his scent right now.

My mind dipped to a dangerous place as Jacob continued to talk, persuading me to stay with him. I wanted to rest, and every time I closed my eyes the voltage would come back.

I shouldn't have looked back. I shouldn't have dared to glance into those glowing orbs behind us. Those eyes will always haunt me.


	31. The Calm before The Storm

**A/N:** I honestly debated killing Nessie last chapter but I couldn't do you all that dirty. I know this chapter is choppy, but it's intended to be! She's just woken up from a coma and adjusting to her surroundings isn't a smooth process. Enjoy.

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Chapter Thirty-One - The Calm before The Storm

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_lay me down on a bed of roses_  
_sink me in the river at dawn_  
_send me away with the words of a love song_

_\- the band perry, if i die young_

oOoOo

It was all white. Always, _white._ I could never see my hands, taste my spit, or feel my lungs contract. You know what I could do? I could see the white, taste the white, and smell the _white_. It smelled like sterilized air and tasted like stale water.

I didn't know how long it had been since I'd been away. Time was misconstrued here. It was as if it were my own version of Emilian's hell - only now my subconscious was in control over my conscious instead of him. No matter how much will I thought I was mustering, I could not see beyond the wall of ivory.

I tried to run but my feet were planted. The screams of my voice were lost. The tears were all dried up.

Jacob, momma, daddy, Seth. Jacob, momma, daddy, Seth. Jacob, momma, daddy, Seth. Jacob, momma, daddy, Seth.

When I felt like the silence was blurring my memories, I would repeat their names. Until I felt I wouldn't forget.

Only to begin to feel the blur, I would repeat the process.

Jacob, momma, daddy, Seth. Jacob, momma, daddy, Seth. Jacob . . . momma . . . daddy . . .

I had begun the question if I were dead, and this was actually hell. I had called out for them. No one came. No one answered. Until their names began to fade and even then I couldn't imagine what their faces looked like.

It was bizarre and lonely. I even would have welcomed the burning if it would take me away from the silence that followed the lost color in my mind. My ability to think past this . . . place . . . was bound. I could not find memories here. I could not recognize sounds; as there were none.

So, I waited.

And, waited.

And . . . _waited_.

Desperately, as a last resort to find my sanity, I attempted to conjure someone's face. I knew it was a man. I tried to picture his skin. His hair. His eyes. It was confusing because I never got him right. How was it that I knew I had a someone, but not what he looked like? The white, as I liked to call it, was a tricky place.

I remembered I had parents, but not their names. I remembered a friend, but not who the friend was. The longer I waited, the harder it became to even _think_. Soon, all my time, if there was even the concept of time here, was spent in silence.

I was trying to unglue the trap that held the names I so desperately needed to remember. J. J. What is the J?

"Nessie, please, baby. Please. I'm so sorry. Oh, God, I'm so _fucking_ sorry."

A drop of water plopped, echoing around me. Color flooded in. The light evaporated. A gust of air in tight lungs. A crack of bone.

"Nessie!" A voice boomed; a real voice. A voice not my own. A voice not distorted.

The light began to give way to colors and shapes, my vision was clearing as I focused on breathing. Time wasn't moving slowly; it was moving at lightning speed.

I blinked, actually _blinked_. I did it again. And again.

"Baby? It's me. Can you look at me, Ness?"

That voice . . .

"Renesmee!" Another voice wailed; this one was more feminine.

"She needs space. Give her space, Bells."

Bells . . . Bells . . . what a pretty word.

"Oh God, it worked. It fucking worked. Carlisle, you mad genius." That familiar voice again!

I continued to blink, and soon all the voices cut out and I panicked. Was the white back?

Thats when I saw, really _saw_ the depth to my surroundings.

Faces. So many faces. Different colors. So many features.

"She's extremely fragile right now . . . " A man with a voice like velvet announced.

I felt sleepy. Until a scent wafted into my nostrils. A scent I hadn't ever known to smell so amazingly sweet.

"Nessie, drink. Baby, can you open your mouth for me?"

I looked down. I found that physically using my body to look felt . . . strange. I wiggled my fingers until I could clench a fist. I was moving. I was seeing!

"Mouth?" The word tumbled past my lips. Was that my voice?

My brain was moving at snails pace but at the same time it felt faster than anything that happened in the white.

"Jacob, she's in a minimally conscious state. You need to give her time." This voice was soft. I liked this voice.

"Jacob." I repeated that word. Or was it a name? I liked it. It felt good to say. "Jacob." I said it again.

There was a pressure on my hand, and my fingers flexed in response. Eyes darting down. Russet against alabaster.

"She's not completely connecting everything. This is normal." That velvet voice whispered just loud enough to hear.

In that moment, complete clarity found me. My mind raced with memories; moments. The flash of green foliage in a densely packed terrain, echoing around it was a melodic laughter. The laugh was dancing as it whizzed around the terrain. The thumping of a heart is heard; loud and strong. Panting. Animalistic and foreign.

My mind jumped to a crackling warmth, shimmying between walls of brick. Flames licking the red stone, glowing orange and yellow against those same russet and alabaster textures. A touch of skin is felt, faint and tender. Similar to the pressure on my hand.

My eyes closed, and I was happy to see the stark contrast of black behind my lids and not that god awful white.

I felt warm all over; like there was heater toasting me from the tip of my nose to the tips of my toes. It was the memories I had lost in the white. All the moments I had mourned for were back, and they were brighter than ever before. It was a reel of my life playing behind closed lids, from my very first breath to my last. I had died, and I knew that now. I had died in the snow, my blood pooling out and staining the very white I cursed. It all made sense now.

I allowed my eyes to open; to be reborn. I focused my vision, really trying to maintain sight on one face in particular. The rest faded away, on their own will. We were alone.

"My Jacob." I spoke directly to him. The face I had worked so hard to picture was staring right back at me; toffee eyes pooling into my own. Tears ran down his rosy cheeks and the brightest smile broke out on his face. The white of his grin did not frighten me.

He dropped his head into my lap, and instinctively my fingers found their place, weaving into his hair. "My Jacob." I repeated, softer this time.

He was openly sobbing, clutching my thighs where his face was smothering between. His massive frame was actually _shaking_.

He allowed himself to still, taking a few calming breaths before lifting his head to peer into my eyes. They were red rimmed, but still just as beautiful.

"Nessie - Honey, can you understand me?"

His sweetness was ever-present.

I tugged on my bottom lip, bringing it between my teeth to wet it before I spoke. "I'm alive."

Jacob choked on a breath, but quickly regained his composure. "Yes, Nessie. You're alive. You're alive."

"How long?"

My brain had more elaborate questions, but I knew the connection was repairing itself. My mouth spoke simply for now. Jacob would understand what I meant, I knew that. He always understood me.

"You were . . . gone for eleven minutes. Kate kept bringing you back with-"

"Shocks." I interrupted, remembering the disruption of peace I kept trying to find.

"Yes, honey. It stopped working for eleven minutes, so we did CPR until Carlisle could get to us. I don't know how he and Edward did it but they got you breathing again. Are you understanding this?"

I only nodded, because for some reason I couldn't say yes. I did understand. But, I also didn't to an extent. I had been dead for eleven minutes. Is that how long I was in the white for?

"The day?"

"It's New Years Eve, honey."

"That's not eleven minutes." I was honest. He said eleven minutes - so how had a week gone by?

Jacob squeezed my hand, bringing it to his mouth and kissing it slowly. He kept his lips hovered on my skin, the sizzle felt nice.

"Ness, it's a lot. We don't need to talk about it all right now."

I pulled my hand away and the sharpness of the movement stole my breath. I felt angry.

"Talk." I deadpanned.

"Nessie . . . " He was warning me, but hestitantly.

"Tell me!" I shouted, lifting myself from the position I was reclined in. It felt unnatural to move that quickly. How strange after years of superhuman speed to feel uncomfortable if I moved.

I felt manic as I looked around, seeing the only color I hated more than anything surround me. White walls, white flooring, white medical equipment. Was I back in the white? Was my brain tricking me?

I was getting angrier. And angrier.

"Renesmee, look at me." The voice that was calming me now commanded me. I felt compelled to listen. I snapped my eyes to his and saw the true depth to his now dark eyes. "Mama, I can hear you in there. I know you're confused and it's frustrating you. I feel it. You were in some form of a coma, and that's hard for a lot of us to wrap our heads around - especially you. Do you understand?"

"Stop." I whimpered the word, closing my eyes as I fell back against a soft cushion. I didn't like that question. Do you understand?

"Will you drink this for me?" I watched him bring a styrofoam cup towards my face, it was also white.

I must have made a revolted expression, because Jacob smirked.

"It's blood, honey. I think you need it. Will you try it?" He asked, a single brow quirked as he jiggled the cup in front of me. The scent wafted towards me as the contents sloshed inside.

I felt a burning in my throat, and instinctively my hand reached for the cup. I ignored the straw and ripped the lid off, gulping down its chilled, sweet contents in a matter of seconds.

A brisk knock resounded in the air, and following the sound was the flurry of my family.

I slowly connected my eyes with them, matching names to faces.

"Dad. Mom." I greeted, bringing my hands up to reach for them. Daddy was at my side in an instant, bringing me against his ice cold body. It wasn't a crushing embrace, but it was strong enough to remind me I was really here. I was alive.

"Renesmee." He spoke softly, almost in a chiding tone. "I thought I lost you."

"_We_ thought we lost you." A humming voice spoke out behind him. Two small hands grasped my face over his shoulders. I opened my eyes to meet the golden honey eyes of my mother, who's face was crumpled with worry. If it was possible, my vampire mother looked tired.

"I tried to remember." I blubbered, my body becoming overwhelmed with emotion and distress. Tears flurried down my cheeks, and just as quickly as they fell they were being swiped away by my mothers chilled thumbs.

"I know." Dad confirmed softly, the solemn tone to his voice could not be missed. "We worked as fast as we could."

"I was bitten." I wailed louder, going limp in his arms. "I was bitten, and I couldn't breathe. I was choking. Then it was white, it was all white!"

A sudden crash of calm surrounded me. My hysterical thoughts died out and were replaced with feelings of joy and ease.

"Jasper." I croaked, opening my eyes enough to glance at him. He pursed his lips, but the feeling remained.

"You have to stay calm, Renesmee. You're still healing, my little nudger." Momma spoke to me directly, brushing the hair away from my eyes.

Grandpa walked over, another styrofoam cup in hand. He looked pained, which was unusual from his usually calm demeanor.

"How are you feeling, Renesmee?" He asked me politely, handing the cup to my mother who brought the straw to my lips. I was still slumped against my father, who pulled me down in a cradled position like he did when I was a child. I didn't mind.

I sucked down the blood, slower than before. My stomach was expanding with every gulp.

"I feel . . . okay." I offered reluctantly.

"You're still a hybrid, so that's good news." A husky voice interrupted, following it was a snort. My eyes glanced across the room to see Seth leaning against the door frame. "You look like shit."

A chair squealed against the tiled floor, my eyes darted to see Jacob crouched, growling rather menacingly.

"Seth." He warned.

Carlisle cleared his throat, unnecessary for a vampire. He was just trying to clear the tense air. My eyes were narrowed slits at my friend, who was displaying his ever present little shit smirk.

_I wonder if he can knock 'watching a friend come back to life from the dead' off his dumb list._

His eyes went wide as he stood up straighter. "Holy shit!"

Dad's frozen body went even stiffer, and he took the liberty to tuck me back into the bed as he stood.

"I just heard your voice in my head!" Seth yelped, doubling over panting as he gripped his knees. He stood again, and looked at me manically.

"Seth, she projected her thoughts." My father announced, shock dripping from his lips. "She projected without touch."


End file.
